& .  /  3 .  toz 


at 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Presented  by  V^V'(St5\0\<EyNC\V  “iA'V'Vo'O 


BT  695  . S6 5  1866 

Smith,  Southwood,  1788-1861. 

The  divine  government 


- 


V 


* 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


/• 


https://archive.org/details/divinegovernmentOOsmit 


GOVERNMENT. 


DIVINE 


r.v 

SOUTH  WOOD  SMITH,  I.D., 

PHYSICIAN  TO  THE  LONDON  FEVER  HOSPITAL, 

AND  MEDICAL  MEMBER  OF  THE  GENERAL  BOARD  OF  HEALTH. 

AUTHOR  OF 

“  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  HEALTH  ;  ”  “  THE  COMMON  NATURE  OF  EPIDEMICS,”  &C.,  SiC. 


- Beholding  in  the  sacred  light 

Of  his  essential  reason  all  the  shapes 
Of  swift  contingencies,  all  successive  ties 
Of  action  propagated  through  the  sum 
Of  possible  existence,  he  at  once 
Down  the  long  series  of  eventful  time 
So  fix’d  the  dates  of  being,  so  disposed 
To  every  living  soul  of  every  kind, 

The  field  of  motion  and  the  hour  of  rest. 

That  all  conspir’d  to  his  supreme  design, 

TO  UNIVERSAL  GOOD!  Akenside. 


FIFTH  EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  CO. 

1866. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


TO 


THE  FIFTH  EDITION, 


It  has  long  been  a  matter  of  regret  to  many  whose  minds  had 
been  deeply  impressed  by  the  early  work  of  the  late  Dr  South- 
wood  Smith,  which  so  fully  and  ably  entered  into  an  investiga¬ 
tion  of  the  commonly  received  doctrine  of  Eternal  Punishment, 
that  this  book  should  be  suffered  to  continue  out  of  print.  The 
fourth  edition  was  published  in  1826,  and  was  sold  out  many 
years  ago  without  having  been  followed  by  another  in  this  country, 
though  four  editions  have  since  appeared  in  America.  The 
want  was  frequently  pressed  on  the  Author,  but  his  time  and 
thoughts  were  engrossed  by  the  work  to  which  he  had  devoted 
himself, — the  task  of  awakening  the  legislature  to  the  importance 
of  Sanitary  Reform,  and  of  furthering  the  progress  of  sanitary 
measures  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability,  and  by  other  literary 
labours,  of  which  the  preparation  of  the  Philosophy  of  Health 
was  the  principal ;  the  re-issue  of  the  Divine  Government  there¬ 
fore  was  not  accomplished. 

The  question,  however,  which  he  had  been  mainly  instrumental 
in  raising,  that  of  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  doctrine  of 
Eternal  Punishment,  did  not  lie  dormant.  During  the  years 
that  have  intervened  since  the  first  edition  appeared  in  1816,  it 
has  unceasingly  agitated  the  minds  of  many  thinking  persons, 
and  a  great  change  has  been  worked  in  their  views  on  the  subject. 
It  is  under  these  circumstances  that  the  friend  to  whom  the 
Author  bequeathed  the  charge  of  republishing  the  work,  if  it 
should  be  required,  has  yielded  to  another  call  for  a  new  edition. 

The  first  part  of  the  book,  which  contains  the  Author’s  views 
on  the  great  laws  of  the  Divine  Government,  and  forms  an 
Essay  complete  in  itself  on  the  Divine  Goodness,  will  be  inter¬ 
esting  even  to  those  who  have  already  arrived  at  settled  opinions 
on  the  question  of  Eternal  Punishment.  The  main  object  of  the 
work  is  to  prove  that  the  whole  human  race  is  destined  to  arrive, 
through  suffering,  at  a  state  of  ultimate  purity,  and  in  the  second 


IV 


ADVERTISEMENT  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


part  are  brought  forward  all  the  arguments  in  support  of  this 
opinion  which  are  derived  from  the  nature  of  God,  the  nature 
of  Man,  and  the  nature  of  Punishment.  The  third  part  is  devoted 
to  the  Scripture  arguments  which  bear  on  the  subject.  Had  he 
revised  the  work  it  is  probable  the  Author  would  have  modified 
it  in  some  degree. 

But  whatever  alterations  he  might  have  made  in  certain  por¬ 
tions,  the  main  scope  of  his  argument  would  have  remained 
unaltered.  The  words  “  God  is  love,”  uttered  by  the  Pounder 
of  Christianity,  were  to  him  living  truth,  and  he  entertained  till 
his  death  the  grand  views  that  he  advocated  in  this  his  earliest 
work,  founded  on  his  faith  in  the  goodness  of  the  Creator. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


TO 


THE  THIRD  EDITION. 

The  more  I  have  contemplated  the  view  of  the  Divine 
character  and  government  which  is  exhibited  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  pages,  and  the  more  the  engagements  of  life  have 
brought  me  acquainted  with  the  wants  of  the  human  mind 
in  this  state  of  discipline,  and  therefore  of  vicissitude  and 
suffering,  the  more  deep  ha£  become  my  conviction,  that 
were  the  opinions  which  it  is  the  object  of  this  work  to 
establish  generally  believed  and  considered,  they  would 
promote  in  an  incalcnlable  measure  the  virtue  and  happi¬ 
ness  of  mankind.  This  conviction  coincides  with  that  of 
the  wisest  and  best  men  whom  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
knowing.  My  sense  of  the  importance  of  rendering  this 
view  of  the  moral  government  of  the  Deity  as  complete  as 
possible,  is  therefore  stronger  than  ever;  and  under  this 
impression  I  have  entered,  in  this  edition,  into  a  more  close 
and  connected  investigation  of  the  origin,  the  nature,  and 


ADVERTISEMENT  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 


V 


the  tendency  of  evil.  I  have  considered,  separately  and 
in  detail,  the  several  classes  of  evil,  namely,  natural  and 
moral  evil,  and  the  evils  which  have  hitherto  been  found 
inseparable  from  the  social  state ;  namely,  poverty,  de¬ 
pendence,  and  servitude.  I  have  endeavoured  to  show 
whv  these  evils  exist  in  the  creation  of  a  being  of  almighty 
power,  of  infinite  wisdom,  and  of  perfect  goodness.  I  have 
endeavoured  to  lead  the  mind  to  the  calm  and  serious  con¬ 
sideration  of  principles  which  seem  adequate  to  divest  it  of 
doubt,  where  doubt  must  be  unhappiness,  and  to  conduct  it 
to  a  conclusion  which,  if  once  embraced  from  conviction, 
must  secure  it  from  misery. 

V 

I  look  back  to  the  quiet  and  contemplative  hours  which 
were  devoted  to  these  inquiries  with  the  feeling,  not  un¬ 
mixed  with  melaneholv,  with  which  we  reflect  on  our  de- 
parted  pleasures.  And  yet  there  is  a  closer  connection  than 
there  might  at  first  sight  seem  between  these  subjects  and 
those  which  now  much  more  exclusively  occupy  my  atten¬ 
tion  :  the  real  end  of  both  is  the  same  :  for  the  object  of 
each  is  alike  to  extend  the  knowledge,  to  mitigate  the  suf- 
fering,  and  to  increase  the  happiness  of  mankind;  and 
without  doubt  this  is  the  great  business  of  life  :  whoever 
succeeds  in  it  most  is  the  wisest,  the  ablest,  and  the  happi¬ 
est  of  his  race  ;  and  even  he  whose  measure  of  success  is 
not  great,  cannot  be  without  satisfaction,  so  long  as  he  is 
conscious  of  the  wish  and  the  effort  to  accomplish  more. 

London:  Trinity  Square,  March ,  1S22. 


PREFACE. 


If  it  be  reasonable  to  refer  the  formation  of  the  earth 
and  of  all  the  objects  and  beings  on  its  surface  to  an  intel¬ 
ligent  agent,  and  if  we  cannot  doubt  that  we  are  entirely 
dependent  upon  our  Creator  for  all  which  we  possess  and 
hope,  it  must  be  of  unspeakable  importance  to  ascertain 
what  his  character  really  is ;  and  if  there  be  indeed  reason 
to  believe,  that,  in  fashioning  our  frame,  and  appointing 
that  it  should  undergo  at  a  certain  period  a  total  disorgan¬ 
ization,  he  do  not  by  that  change  design  to  destroy  us,  but 
to  qualify  us  for  a  higher  state  and  for  nobler  pursuits,  no 
inquiry  can  be  so  interesting  as  that  which  relates  to  our 
destiny  in  the  ages  which  are  before  us. 

Were  it  possible  to  arm  ourselves  against  the  calamities 
of  life,  as  Perseus  is  fabled  to  have  been  armed  by  the  nods 
for  his  far-famed  expedition,  he  who  should  commence  the 
career  of  existence  without  his  helmet,  falchion,  and  aegis, 
would  be  universally  regarded  as  destitute  of  reason  :  but 
that  individual  is  infinitely  better  prepared  to  encounter 
the  evil  with  which  he  has  to  combat,  who  believes  in  the 
doctrine  of  a  Providence,  and  knows  the  ground  of  his  be¬ 
lief,  that  is,  who  views  ail  events  with  the  eye,  and  meets 
them  with  the  feeling,  of  a  Christian  philosopher.  With 
this  belief,  no  combination  of  circumstances  can  make  him, 
for  any  considerable  period,  unhappy ;  without  it,  nothing 
can  afford  him  a  pleasure  of  which  Wisdom  ought  not  to 
fear  to  participate,  and  with  which  Philosophy  ought  not 
to  blush  to  be  content. 


PREFACE, 


vii 

It  was  under  tlie  influence  of  tliis  conviction  that  the 
author  of  the  following  work  commenced  it  with  a  trembling 
mind,  afraid  to  undertake  a  task  of  so  much  magnitude  and 
interest.  But,  appearing  to  himself  to  have  formed  a  clear, 
consistent,  and  cheering  view  of  the  nature  and  object  of 
the  dispensations  of  the  great  Parent  of  mankind,  and 
having,  in  the  retirement  of  private  life,  been  a  witness,  on 
occasions  which  to  him  were  deeply  impressive,  of  the 
tendency  of  that  view  to  heighten  the  pleasure  of  the  hour 
of  enjoyment,  and  to  sustain  the  mind  in  the  day  of  sorrow, 
he  thought  that,  by  directing  the  attention  of  his  fellow 
Christians  to  a  comprehensive  and  connected  investigation 
of  the  subiect,  he  might  possiblv  contribute  something  to 
the  removal  of  their  doubts,  and  the  confirmation  of  their 
faith.  If,  in  any  degree,  he  have  succeeded  in  this  object, 
his  success  will  ever  appear  to  him  invaluable. 

In  one  part  of  the  work  an  expression  or  two  occur 
which  some  persons  may  consider  strong,  and  perhaps  un- 
eanclid,  relative  to  doctrines  which  appear  to  him  unjust, 
malevolent,  and  immoral ;  but  he  trusts  the  spirit  which 
this  volume  breathes,  will  secure  him  from  the  suspicion  of 
attributing  anything  of  injustice,  malevolence,  or  immo¬ 
rality,  to  the  persons  who  maintain  the  opinions  which  he 
condemns.  The  intelligent  inquirer  will  have  made  but 
little  progress  in  his  religious  investigation,  before  he  learns 
the  necessity  of  distinguishing  between  rectitude  of  cha¬ 
racter  and  excellence  of  system;  between  the  malignant 
tendency  of  a  creed,  and  the  benignity  of  the  heart  which 
embraces  it.  Neither  justice  nor  charity  can  exist,  unless 
this  distinction  be  constantly  kept  up ;  and  it  is  because  it 
is  so  seldom  made,  that  justice  and  charity  are,  among  the¬ 
ologians,  scarcely  anything  but  a  name. 


VI 11 


PREFACE. 


The  author  would  particularly  solicit  the  attention  of  his 
readers,  and  especially  of  those  who  may  he  believers  in 
the  doctrine  of  Limited  Punishment  terminated  by  Destruc¬ 
tion,  to  that  part  of  the  work  in  which  this  subject  is  dis¬ 
cussed.  He  has  there  endeavoured  to  meet,  fairly  and  fully, 
all  the  arguments,  as  far  as  he  has  been  able  to  learn  them, 
which  are  urged  in  support  of  the  hypothesis.  Feeling,  as 
he  does,  a  thorough  persuasion  that  each  is  satisfactorily 
answered,  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  difficulties  are 
stated  against  the  doctrine,  which  are  insuperable,  he  can¬ 
not  but  think  that  the  reasoning  which  appears  to  his  own 
mind  so  forcible,  may  possibly  make  some  impression  on 
that  of  the  candid  and  patient  inquirer.  He  is  well  aware, 
however,  of  the  different  estimate  which  different  persons 
form  of  the  force  of  the  same  arguments,  and  instead  of 
cherishing  a  positive  feeling;  that  he  is  right,  he  is  much 

O  -L  O  O-7 

more  disposed  to  bear  in  mind  the  possibility  of  his  beipg 
under  those  common  influences  by  which  we  impose  upon 
ourselves  respecting  the  conclusiveness  of  our  own  reason¬ 
ings,  and  to  attend  with  thankfulness  to  any  one  who  may 
do  him  the  favour  to  correct  any  mistake  into  which  he 
may  have  fallen.  , 

To  the  friends  who  encouraged  him  to  proceed  with  this 
work,  as  soon  as  they  heard  it  was  projected,  the  author 
returns  his  thanks ;  and  the  ardent  testimony  of  approba¬ 
tion  which  he  has  received  from  some  of  them,  since  its 
publication,  has  excited  the  hope,  that  he  has  not  written 
wholly  in  vain,  and  that  these  pages  may,  perhaps,  be  the 
means  of  speaking  peace  to  the  perturbed  mind,  and  of 
solacing  the  sorrows  of  the  mourner,  when  the  hand  which 
penned  them  is  motionless,  and  the  heart  which  dictated 
them  shall  have  ceased  to  beat  with  human  emotion. 


CONTENTS. 


fart  Jfirst. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Of  the  Proof  of  the  Government  of  God 

CHAPTER  II. 

Of  the  Manner  in  which  the  Divine  Government  is  administered 

CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  Design  of  the  Divine  Government  ... 


fart  jsramlj. 

INTRODUCTION. 

SECTION  I. 

Of  the  kind  of  Evidence  which  is  necessary  to  establish  the 
Doctrine  of  the  Ultimate  Purity  and  Happiness  of  all  Man¬ 
kind 

SECTION  II. 

Of  the  Evidence  in  favour  of  the  Einal  Restoration  of  all  Man¬ 
kind  to  Purity  and  Happiness,  distinct  from  that  afforded  by 
the  express  Declarations  of  Scripture 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  the  Doctrine  of  Universal  Restora- 
tion,  derived  from  the  Perfections  of  God. 

SECTION  i. 

Of  the  Goodness  of  God 

SECTION  II. 

Of  the  Evil  of  Defect,  and  of  Natural  and  Moral  Evil 

SECTION  III. 

Of  the  Evils  of  the  Social  State,  and  especially  of  the  Evils  which 
are  alleged  to  result  from  the  Principle  of  Population 

SECTION  IT. 

Of  the  Design  of  God  in  the  Creation,  and  of  what  is  really 
meant  when  it  is  said  that  he  created  the  World  for  his  own 
Glory 

SECTION  V. 

Of  the  Universality  of  the  Divine  Benevolence  ... 

section  vi. 

Of  the  Impossibility  of  frustrating  the  Design  of  the  Deity 

SECTION  VII. 

Of  the  Harmony  of  the  Divine  Perfections  ... 

CPIAPTER  II. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  the  Doctrine  of  Universal  Restora- 

o 

tion,  from  the  Nature  of  Man 

CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  the  Doctrine  of  Universal  Restora¬ 
tion,  from  the  Nature  and  Object  of  Punishment ;  and  of  the 
Proof  that  the  Euture  Punishment  of  the  Wicked  will  be 
corrective,  in  answer  to  the  Objections  and  Reasonings  of 
Dr  Jonathan  Edwards 


PAGE 

43 

57 

75 

108 

'  114 

119 

121 

126 


»  •  • 


136 


CONTEXTS. 


SI 


fart  Cinvi). 

Of  the  Objections  which  are  urged  against  the  Doctrine  of  Uni¬ 
versal  Restoration,  whether  derived  from  those  Passages  of 
Scripture,  or  from  those  Reasonings,  which  are  supposed  to 
prove  the  Doctrine  of  Endless  Misery,  or  from  those  which 
are  conceived  to  favour  the  Doctrine  of  Limited  Punish¬ 
ment,  terminated  by  Destruction 


CHAPTER  I. 

OF  ENDLESS  MISERY. 

SECTION  I. 

Of  the  Term  Everlasting 

SECTION  II. 

Of  the  Application  of  the  same  Word  to  the  Happiness  of  the 
Righteous  and  the  Punishment  of  the  Wicked  ... 

SECTION  HI. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  Endless  Misery,  derived  from  the 
phrase  Unquenchable  Eire 

SECTION  IV. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  Endless  Miserv,  founded  on  the 
case  of  Judas 

section  v. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  Endless  Misery,  derived  from  the 
Language  which  is  used  concerning  the  Sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost 

SECTION  VI. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  Endless  ALiserv,  deduced  from  the 
Parable  of  the  Great  Gulf 

SECTION  VII. 

Of  the  Opinion  that  there  will  be  no  successive  Duration  in  a 
Future  State 

CHAPTER  II. 

Of  the  Arguments  conceived  to  favour  the  Doctrine  of  Endless 
Misery,  which  are  not  founded  on  the  express  Declarations 
of  Scripture 


PAGE 

151 

151 

158 

170 

173 

178 

ISO 

185 

1S7 


» •  i 


189 


x:i 


CONTEXTS. 


SECTION  I. 

PAGE 

Of  the  Infinite  Evil  of  Sin  ...  ...  ...  ...  pgg 

% 

SECTION  II. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  Endless  Misery,  founded  on  the 
Divine  Justice ;  with  an  Examination  of  the  Reasoning's  of 
Dr  Edwards  on  this  Subject  ...  ...  ...  191 

section  hi. 

Of  the  Argument  in  favour  of  Endless  Misery,  founded  on  the 

Divine  Sovereignty  ...  ...  ...  ...  208 

CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  Doctrine  of  Limited  Punishment,  terminated  by  Destruc¬ 
tion  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  212 


fart  jMttlt, 

Of  the  Scriptural  Evidence  in  favour  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Pinal 

Restoration  of  all  Mankind  to  Purity  and  Happiness  ...  221 

CHAPTER  I. 

Of  the  Passages  of  Scripture  which  imply  that  all  Mankind  will 

be  ultimately  restored  to  Purity  and  Happiness  ...  ...  224 

CHAPTER  II. 

Of  the  Passages  of  Scripture  which  appear  expressly  to  affirm, 
that  all  Mankind  will  be  ultimately  restored  to  Purity  and 
Happiness  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  231 


Appendix — To  the  Eirst  Edition  ...  ...  ...  252 

To  the  Eifth  Edition  ...  ...  ...  256 

Note  A  ...  ...  ...  ...  258 

Note  B  ...  ...  ...  ...  271 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 

\ 


PART  FIRST. 

CHAPTER  I. 

OF  THE  PROOF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD. 

In  endeavouring  to  account  for  the  existence  of  the 
world,  we  find  it  impossible  to  resist  the  conclusion,  that 
it  is  the  production  of  a  Being  of  almighty  power  and  of 
perfect  goodness.  It  is  evident  that  it  did  not  create 
itself,  for  creation  necessarily  supposes  a  pre-existing  in¬ 
telligence.  It  is  evident  that  the  creatures  on  its  surface 
did  not  give  being  to  themselves,  for  they  do  not  compre¬ 
hend  the  mode  of  their  own  existence.  They  must  there¬ 
fore  derive  their  origin  from  some  being  who  understood 
their  nature,  and  who  endowed  them  with  the  faculties 
they  possess. 

The  simplest  ideas  we  seem  capable  of  forming  of  this 
Being  are,  that  he  is  intelligent,  and  that  he  is  uncaused. 
Intelligent  he  must  be,  for  there  are  in  his  works,  proofs 
of  exquisite  and  amazing  skill ;  and  if  there  be  anything 
of  which  we  may  be  certain,  it  is,  that  wherever  there  is 
contrivance  there  must  have  been  a  contriver,  and  that  an 
adaptation  of  means  to  an  end  cannot  possibly  exist,  with¬ 
out  the  operation  of  a  being  who  perceived  and  designed 
the  end,  and  fitted  the  means  to  accomplish  it. 

That  the  Great  First  Cause  of  all  things  must  be  him- 

1 


2 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


self  uncaused,  is  also  a  truth  which  we  are  obliged  to 
admit :  for  if  we  imagine  that  the  immediate  Creator  of 
the  world  derives  his  existence  and  power  from  some 
superior  being,  we  must  suppose,  either  that  this  superior 
being  is  uncaused,  in  which  case  it  is  he  who  will  answer 
to  our  conception  of  the  Deity,  or  that  he  is  dependent 
upon  a  third,  and  that  this  third  is  dependent  on  a  fourth, 
and  so  on  in  an  infinite  series.  But  this  infinite  succession 
of  dependent  beings  requires  a  first  and  independent 
cause,  as  much  as  any  one  in  the  series ;  and  however  far 
we  may  choose  to  carry  our  thoughts  backward,  we  must 
at  length  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  some  one 
independent,  underived  being,  the  peculiarity  of  whose 
nature  we  endeavour  to  express  by  saying  that  he  is  self- 
existent.  It  is  this  being  that  we  term  God,  and  that  we 
suppose  to  be  the  Creator  of  the  world. 

If  in  this  visible  creation  there  be  proofs  of  such  con¬ 
trivance  as  cannot  but  convince  the  mind  that  it  is  the 
production  of  infinite  intelligence,  it  likewise  contains  in¬ 
dications  of  such  power,  as  we  must  acknowledge  to  be 
altogether  without  limits.  He  who  could  create  such  a 
world  as  this,  must  be  able  to  do  whatever  it  is  possible 
for  wisdom  and  power  to  accomplish.  We  have  therefore 
no  difficulty  in  conceiving  that  the  author  of  this  part  of 
the  creation  is  the  author  of  the  universe,  however  un¬ 
limited  it  be,  or  however  amazing  the  degree  of  wisdom 
and  power  necessary  to  the  production  of  it.  For,  though 
other  worlds  may  be  much  greater  in  magnitude  than  this, 
and  may  contain  much  higher  and  nobler  displays  of  wis¬ 
dom  (which  may  possibly  be  the  case,  though  we  can 
scarcely  conceive  how  even  infinite  wisdom  can  go  beyond 
some  contrivances  with  which  we  are  acquainted),  yet 
there  are  in  this  globe  sufficient  appearances  of  it  to  ac¬ 
count  for  any  which  may  exist  in  other  parts  of  the  cre¬ 
ation,  however  glorious  they  may  be. 

The  discoveries  of  modern  science  have  exhibited  in  the 
most  striking  light  these  indications  of  wisdom  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  and  education,  which  is  now  generally 
diffused,  has  rendered  them  so  familiar,  that  few  are  en- 
tirelv  ignorant  of  them.  Amidst  all  these  wonders,  in 
nothing,  perhaps,  is  the  matchless  skill  of  the  Creator 
more  admirably  displayed  than  in  the  simplicity  of  the 


COMBINATIONS  OP  MATTER. 


O 

O 


means  which  lie  lias  adopted  to  accomplish  his  vast  and 
mighty  purposes.  By  one  single  principle  he  preserves 
the  planets  in  their  orbits,,  regulates  and  adjusts  their 
various  movements,  determines  the  descent  of  bodies  to 
the  earth,  and  retains  them  at  its  surface.  By  a  similar, 
if  not  the  same  principle,  he  causes  the  particles  of  matter 
of  which  bodies  are  composed  to  cohere,  and  by  the  same 
power,  exerted  between  particles  of  different  kinds,  all  ex¬ 
isting  and  all  possible  combinations  of  matter  are  formed. 
The  same  sun  which  gives  stability  to  the  system  of  which 
it  is  the  centre,  furnishes  it  with  light  and  heat.  The 
same  air  which  sustains  animal  life  in  respiration  alike 
promotes  the  process  of  vegetation,  supports  combustion, 
equalizes  temperature  over  the  globe,  dissolves,  elevates, 
and  diffuses  water,  deposits  it  again  in  the  form  of  dew  or 
rain,  and  thus  enriches  and  beautifies  the  earth.  Though 
by  respiration,  by  the  process  of  vegetation,  and  by  many 
other  chemical  changes  which  take  place  without  ceasing 
at  the  earth/ s  surface,  there  is  a  constant  consumption  of 
one  of  the  constituent  principles  of  this  air,  and  as  con¬ 
stant  a  production  of  another,  yet  it  is  never  deteriorated ; 
because  by  an  arrangement  which,  if  subsequent  investiga- 
tion  shall  establish  its  correctness,  must  be  ranked  amongst 
one  of  the  most  admirable  adjustments  in  the  whole 
economy  of  nature,  that  part  of  the  air  which  is  no  longer 
fitted  for  the  function  of  respiration,  but  which  would 
prove  deleterious  to  animals,  is  the  very  part  which  min¬ 
isters  to  the  nourishment  of  plants,  and  that  part  which 
plants  exhale,  animals  inhale.  Neither  is  the  air  in  the 
least  degree  exhausted  by  the  constant  expenditure  of  it, 
either  by  the  two  tribes  of  animated  beings,  or  by  the 
innumerable  processes  which  are  constantly  taking  place, 
and  to  which  it  affords  the  materials ;  but  by  the  disen¬ 
gagement  of  its  simple  gases  in  other  processes,  and  their 
re-union,  the  necessary  supply,  the  just  equilibrium,  is 
kept  up. 

The  same  comnrehensive  wisdom  is  seen  in  the  means 
which  have  been  provided  to  secure  the  constant  fertility 
of  the  earth,  by  the  appointment  of  the  law  that  the  de¬ 
struction  of  one  vegetable  shall  afford  nourishment  to 
another,  and  in  like  manner  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  food 

l  * 


4 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


for  animals,  by  tbe  appointment  of  the  law  that  they  shall 
furnish  subsistence  to  each  other. 

Were  it  necessary  in  this  argument  to  descend  to  the 
consideration  of  the  structure  of  individual  bodies  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  animal  or  vegetable  kingdom,  it  would  be  easy 
to  point  out,  in  both,  instances  of  such  consummate  skill 
as  no  mind  could  possibly  contemplate  without  the  highest 
admiration. 

The  proof  of  the  goodness  of  the  Creator  is  as  complete 
as  that  of  his  wisdom,  and  even  of  his  existence  itself. 
We  infer  his  existence  from  the  appearance  of  design  in 
his  works,  and  his  wisdom  from  the  exquisiteness  of  that 
design :  but  every  proof  of  design  is  equally  a  proof  of 
benevolence,  because  the  object  of  every  contrivance  is 
the  production  of  good.  We  are  not,  therefore,  more 
certain  of  the  existence  and  wisdom  of  the  Deity  than  of 
his  goodness,  for  the  very  facts  on  which  we  ground  our 
belief  of  the  former  equally  establish  the  latter. 

If  then  the  world  be  indeed  the  production  of  a  Being 
who  is  infinite  in  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  the  proof 
of  his  constant  and  perfect  superintendence  of  it  seems  to 
be  irresistible.  For  since  he  is  perfect  in  wisdom;,  he 
could  not  have  created  it  without  some  design,  and  that 
design,  whatever  it  be,  he  must  be  careful  to  accomplish. 
Whether  we  suppose  he  created  it  with  a  view  to  display 
to  his  intelligent  creatures  his  wisdom  and  power,  or  with 
a  design  to  impart  enjoyment  to  an  inconceivable  number 
and  variety  of  beings,  we  must  believe,  in  the  one  case 
that  he  will  at  all  times  provide  against  the  interruption 
of  that  order  which  alone  can  illustrate  his  perfections, 
and  the  destruction  of  those  faculties  which  are  necessary 
to  perceive  them;  and  in  the  other,  that  he  will  suffer  no 
event  to  happen  which  can  prevent  or  impair  the  happi¬ 
ness  he  determines  to  bestow.  In  every  successive  period, 
therefore,  he  must  have  exactly  the  same  reason  to  super¬ 
intend  the  events  which  take  place  in  his  creation  as  he 
had  at  first  to  perform  the  glorious  work. 

Nothing’  is  more  evident  than  that  the  inanimate  and 
insensible  part  of  the  creation  is  fitted  up  for  the  accom¬ 
modation,  and  designed  to  promote  the  happiness,  of  the 
sentient.  The  inanimate  world  is  continually  in  motion, 
and  every  movement  must  influence,  in  a  greater  or  less 


GENERAL  SUPERINTENDENCE  OF  EVENTS. 


5 


degree,  tlie  enjoyment  of  the  animal  creation.  He,  there¬ 
fore,  who  constructed  the  wonderful  fabric  of  the  world, 
and  so  admirably  adapted  it  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  in¬ 
numerable  beings  it  contains,  continually  watches  over 
the  movements  which  take  place  within  it,  that  they  may 
not  break  in  upon  the  order  nor  impair  the  happiness  he 
has  established. 

But  the  animal  creation  itself  is  likewise  continually  in 
motion.  An  animal  possesses  the  power  of  originating 
motion,  by  which  sometimes  its  existence,  and  always  its 
happiness,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  are  affected.  The 
care  of  the  Deitv  must,  therefore,  extend  to  the  movements 
of  the  animal,  no  less  than  to  those  of  the  material,  world. 

Such  then  being  the  constitution  of  things  ;  it  being 
evident  that  the  material  *  is  made  for  the  animal  creation ; 
that  the  material  world  is  continually  changing,  thereby 
producing  a  change  in  the  animal ;  that  the  animal  world 
itself  is  endowed  with  the  property  of  changing  its  situa¬ 
tion,  and  every  change  of  state  being  necessarily  attended 
with  a  change  of  sensation,  the  doctrine  which  an  enlight- 
ened  philosophy  teaches,  is,  that  the  Deity,  with  a  view  of 
making  that  sensation  just  what  he  has  seen  fit  to  appoint, 
continually  superintends  the  changes  which  induce  it. 

If  every  particle  of  matter  in  the  globe  be  more  or  less 
in  motion,  and  if  we  can  fix  our  eye  on  no  spot  where 
there  is  not  organized  and  conscious  existence,  the  view 
which  is  here  given  of  Divine  Providence  is  large  enough 
to  take  in  the  superintendence  of  the  myriads  of  changes 
which,  according  to  this  supposition,  must  be  taking  place 
in  every  instant  of  time.  If  every  star  which  shines  in 
the  firmament  of  heaven  be  a  world  crowded  with  inhabit¬ 
ants  ;  if  every  fixed  star  be  a  sun  which  illumines  a  system 
of  worlds,  as  our  sun  illumines  our  system ;  and  if  all  these 
worlds  and  systems  be  filled  with  organized  and  happy 
creatures  (which  is  at  once  the  most  sublime  and  the  most 
probable  view  it  is  possible  to  take  of  the  creation,)  this 
account  of  the  Divine  administration  is  sufficient  to  com¬ 
prehend  the  superintendence  of  all  the  events  which  must 
be  taking  place  in  every  instant  of  time,  throughout  this 
universe  of  being,  to  the  extent  of  which  we  can  set  no 

*  By  'material  creation  is  here  always  meant  that  part  of  the  world  which  is 
supposed  to  be  without  sensation,  whether  organized  or  unorganized. 


6 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


limits,  and  in  tlie  contemplation  of  which  all  our  faculties 
are  lost. 

Whoever  believes  that 'the  system  of  the  universe  did 
not  start  into  being  without  a  designing  cause,  acknow¬ 
ledges  that  its  Author  is  everywhere  present.  Omni¬ 
presence  is  an  attribute  which  seems  essential  to  the  very 
notion  of  a  God.  It  is  true  we  cannot  understand  how  at 
one  and  the  same  instant  he  is  present  in  every  part  of 
the  universe ;  but  this  difficulty  in  conceiving  of  the  mode 
of  the  fact,  neither  does  nor  ought  to  bring  any  doubt  upon 
our  belief  of  the  fact  itself,  because  our  comprehension  of 
every  subject  whatever  is  equally  obscure  and  imperfect. 
We  understand  nothing  of  the  mode  of  the  existence  of 
any  being.  W e  know  that  we  ourselves  exist,  but  we 
have  no  conception  of  the  manner  in  which  the  wonderful 
phenomena  of  life  are  produced  and  continued.  Of  the 
existence  of  the  Deity  it  is  impossible  to  doubt.  We  see 
his  works  :  we  feel  his  power  :  but  in  what  manner  he 
exists  we  do  not  know,  because  we  have  no  data  upon 
which  to  form  even  a  conjecture  respecting  the  mode  of 
his  existence.  The  reason  that  we  do  not  know  how  he 
is  everywhere  present,  is,  because  we  do  not  know  how  he  is 
present  anywhere ;  that  is,  because  we  do  not  at  all  com¬ 
prehend  the  mode  of  his  existence. 

We  see  that  man  is  bound  to  a  little  spot  of  earth,  and 
that  his  presence  at  one  time  is  restricted  to  that  spot. 
This  being  the  only  kinc\  of  existence  with  which  our 
senses  have  made  us  acquainted,  it  is  natural  that  we 
should  find  it  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  Being  cphi  at  the 
same  moment  be  here,  and  in  the  most  distant  part  of  the 
globe,  and  in  the  most  distant  planet !  But  whatever  be 
the  mode  of  the  existence  of  the  Deity,  we  must  necessarily 
conceive  of  it  as  different  from  our  own.  For  at  all  events 
he  has  been  present  in  this  globe ;  in  the  planets  which 
form  our  system  ;  in  the  sun  which  is  its  centre ;  in  every 
fixed  star ;  in  a  word,  wherever  we  behold  a  planet  or  a 
star.  Whatever  these  bodies  are,  they  are  something ; 
some  of  them  are  of  immense  magnitude,  and  are  placed 
at  such  distances  from  each  other  as  to  be  beyond  our 
power  of  calculation;  and  no  one  will  contend  that  they 
placed  themselves  where  they  are.  Now  he  who  could 
place  them  there;  he,  the  constitution  of  whose  nature 


OMNIPRESENCE  OF  THE  DEITY. 


7 


admits  of  liis  ever  having  been  present  at  these  incon¬ 
ceivable  distances,  must  possess  a  nature  so  essentially 
different  from  ours,  that  we  ought  to  have  no  difficulty  in 
supposing  that  it  may  allow  of  his  being  present  at  them 
at  one  and  the  same  time,  as  easily  as  at  successive 
periods.  As  our  mode  of  existence  confines  our  presence 
to  one  spot  at  one  time,  his  may  be  such  as  necessarily 
makes  him  present  in  every  part  of  the  universe. 

Many  writers  on  this  subject  appear  needlessly  to  have 
magnified  the  difficulty  which  attends  our  conception  of  it. 
They  seem  in  general  to  think  that  the  Deity  bears  no 
relation  whatever  to  space  :  that,  in  fact,  he  is  actually 
present  nowhere,  and  that  of  course  it  is  only  in  a  figura¬ 
tive  sense  that  he  is  omnipresent.  But  surely  it  is  more 
just  to  conceive  of  him  as  really  pervading  all  space,  as 
actually  present  in  every  part  of  the  universe.  This  idea 
is  at  least  distinct,  and  enables  us  to  conceive,  in  a  satis¬ 
factory  manner,  of  his  universal  operation ;  while  the  view 
commonly  entertained  is  extremely  confused  :  for  do  what 
we  will,  we  can  form  no  idea  of  a  being  who  bears  no  rela¬ 
tion  to  space  j  and  if  we  could,  we  should  still  be  pressed 
with  the  difficulty  of  conceiving  how  a  being  can  operate 
where  he  is  not :  but  if  we  admit  the  hypothesis  now  pro¬ 
posed,  we  can  readily  believe  that  the  Deity  operates  every¬ 
where,  for,  according  to  it,  he  is  everywhere. 

In  whatever  manner,  however,  we  may  conceive  of  the 
omnipresence  of  the  Deity,  we  must  all  admit  the  fact  it¬ 
self,  that  by  the  necessity  of  his  nature,  he  is  everywhere, 
and  that  by  the-  same  necessity  he  knows  everything. 
And  no  other  admission  is  requisite  to  establish  in  the 
most  satisfactory  manner  his  universal  and  perfect  govern¬ 
ment.  His  benevolent  eye  is  upon  me ;  his  almighty  arm 
is  beneath  me ;  with  the  situation  in  which  I  am  placed, 
he  is  infinitely  better  acquainted  in  all  its  parts  than  I  am 
with  any  single  circumstance  in  it.  He  knows  that  a 
certain  event  is  about  to  befall  me  :  he  understands  its 
nature  :  he  foresees  its  consequences  :  he  is  perfectly  wise  : 
he  is  infinitely  good.  Would  he  then  permit  it  to  happen, 
did  he  not  foresee  it  would  answer  some  wise  and  benevo¬ 
lent  purpose  ?  Can  we  conceive  that  he  is  everywhere 
present  without  acting  ?  That  he  knows  everything  with¬ 
out  availing  himself  of  the  power  he  possesses,  to  prevent 


8 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


what  is  wrong  and  to  accomplish  what  is  right  ?  That, 
though  he  is  perfectly  acquainted  with  every  evil  which  is 
about  to  arise,  and  perfectly  able  to  prevent  it,  he  will  not 
stretch  out  his  hand  to  do  so  ?  That  the  original  source 
of  all  activity  is  the  only  inactive  being  in  the  universe, 
and  the  source  of  all  energy  the  only  being  who  does  not 
exert  his  power  ? 

If  this  opinion  be  absurd  in  itself,  and  unsupported  by 
the  shadow  of  reason,  there  is  but  one  other  conclusion 
which  can  be  adopted,  namely,  that  every  event  which 
happens  to  every  creature  takes  place  according  to  the 
appointment  of  the  Deity.  Nothing  can  be  more  frivolous 
than  the  objection,  that  the  watchfulness  which  this  sup¬ 
poses  over  the  most  trifling  concerns  of  the  most  insignifi¬ 
cant  creature  is  unworthy  of  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe. 
Whatever  it  was  not  beneath  him  to  create,  it  cannot  be 
beneath  him  to  provide  for  and  to  protect ;  and  whatever 
is  of  any  importance,  either  to  the  present  or  the  future 
comfort  of  any  being,  is  worthy  of  care  in  the  degree  in 
which  it  may  be  the  means  of  enjoyment  or  the  cause  of 
suffering.  Its  minuteness  cannot  render  it  unworthy  of 
notice,  if  it  be  of  any  consequence ;  and  what  would 
detract  from  the  dignity  and  greatness  of  the  Governor  of 
the  universe  would  be,  not  his  taking  care  of  these  minute 
concerns,  but  his  neglecting  them. 

A  great  part  of  animal  enjoyment  depends  upon  what 
we  are  accustomed  to  consider  as  little  things.  A  great 
number  of  little  things,  particularly  if  they  often  recur, 
become  of  greater  importance  than  any  single  event,  how¬ 
ever  vast  or  momentous ;  they  produce,  taken  together,  a 
larger  sum  of  enjoyment,  and  there  seems  no  possible  way 
of  taking  care  of  this  collective  sum,  but  by  taking  care  of 
particular  events.  And,  indeed,  the  superintendence  of 
minute  events  implies  as  much  dignity  as  the  superin¬ 
tendence  of  great  events,  and  our  admiration  is  never  more 
excited  than  when  we  contemplate  an  intelligence  which, 
while  it  directs  the  most  grand  and  mighty  movements, 
overlooks  not  the  most  insignificant  concern  capable  of 
affecting  the  ultimate  result.  That  superintendence  which 
extends  its  care  to  the  least  obvious  circumstance,  no  less 
than  to  the  most  striking,  is  certainly  more  perfect  than 


PATERNAL  CHARACTER  OP  THE  DEITY. 


9 


that  which  regards  only  such  events  as  no  intelligent 
being  could  possibly  overlook. 

The  apprehension  that  this  constant  superintendence  of 
events,  from  the  minutest  circumstance  which  is  capable 
of  exciting  sensation,  up  to  those  mighty  movements 
which  affect  the  condition  of  worlds,  must  be  attended 
with'  perplexity  to  the  Deity,  originates  in  conceptions 
equally  unenlightened  and  imperfect.  He  is  at  all  times 
present  everywhere,  and  everywhere  is  capable  of  exerting 
his  power.  The  superintendence  of  all  the  events  in  the 
universe,  therefore,  can  be  attended  with  no  more  trouble 
to  him  than  the  superintendence  of  any  single  event.  The 
whole  of  possibility  must  at  all  times  be  equally  easy  to 
the  Being  who  possesses  infinite  power. 

We  have,  therefore,  abundant  reason  to  rest  in  the  de¬ 
lightful  assurance,  that  of  every  event  which  takes  place, 
all  the  care  is  taken  which  perfect  wisdom  can  dictate 
and  infinite  goodness  require  :  that  all  its  consequences 
are  foreseen  and  considered ;  that  its  time,  its  place,  its 
measure,  its  duration,  are  all  appointed  by  him  who  first 
set  in  motion  the  complicated  and  mighty  wheels  which 
brino-  it  round. 

o 

Of  this  sublime  truth,  which  nothing  but  its  great  and 
cheering  consequences  can  lead  us  to  doubt,  we  may  be 
further  assured,  by  the  consideration  of  the  relation  which 
the  Creator  necessarily  bears  to  his  creatures.  He  is  not 
merely  their  Creator.  By  the  very  act  of  creation,  he 
unites  himself  to  them  by  a  tie  but  feebly  represented  by 
that  which  binds  a  parent  to  his  child.  He  is  their  Father 
in  a  much  more  near  and  real  sense  than  any  human  parent 
is  the  father  of  his  offspring,  and  the  best  feelings  of 
earthly  parents  must  be  exceeded  by  his  in  the  degree  in 
which  he  is  more  perfect  than  they.  Yet  a  good  father 
lives  but  to  labour  for  the  welfare  of  his  family.  A  tender 
mother,  while  she  presses  her  child  to  her  bosom,  anxious¬ 
ly  considers  how  she  may  best  avail  herself  of  the  situation 
in  which  she  is  placed  to  advance  its  happiness ;  wishes 
she  had  the  command  of  circumstances,  and  could  prevent 
the  occurrence  of  every  event  capable  of  endangering  its 
virtue  and  enjoyment. 

This  power,  so  vainly  desired  by  human  parents,  is 


10 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


possessed  by  the  Universal  Parent ;  and  is  it  possible  to 
believe  that  be  will  not  exert  it  for  tbe  welfare  of  bis  off¬ 
spring  ?  With  unerring  wisdom  and  unbounded  good¬ 
ness,  must  be  not  feel  towards  tbem  in  tbe  best  manner  ; 
and  since  no  power  in  tbe  universe  is  capable  of  control¬ 
ling  bis  will,  must  be  not  at  all  times  act  towards  tbem  as 
these  feelings  dictate  ? 

No  other  consideration  surely  can  be  necessary  to  make 

1/  * 

every  intelligent  being  satisfied  with  bis  lot,  and  resigned 
to  tbe  dispensations  which  befall  him.  Many  of  tbe  events 
of  life,  it  is  true,  are  deeply  afflictive.  Often  our  enjoy¬ 
ments  seem  given  us  but  to  be  removed,  and  even  the 
most  secure  we  bold  bv  an  uncertain  tenure.  Tbe  in- 

e/ 

equalities  in  health ;  in  tbe  duration  of  life ;  in  the  distri¬ 
bution  of  property;  tbe  prevalence  of  natural  and  moral 
evil  in  their  thousand  shapes,  sometimes  press  with  such 
severity  upon  tbe  mind,  as  to  create,  even  in  tbe  most 
pious  and  confiding,  a  doubt  whether  a  Being  of  perfect 
benevolence  be  indeed  seated  at  tbe  helm  of  affairs.  Our 
very  hearts  die  within  us  when  sickness  and  death  assail 
our  beloved  friends.  When  tbe  heart  on  which  our  image 
was  engraven,  and  which  beat  with  generous  affection  for 
us,  is  insensible  and  cold ;  when  in  that  dark  and  narrow 
bed,  from  which  they  cannot  arise,  sleep  a  father,  a  wife, 
a  child,  a  friend,  we  feel  a  sorrow  which  refuses  to  be 
comforted.  We  dwell  upon  Jheir  excellences  with  a  mourn¬ 
ful  pleasure.  We  think  of  the  happy  hours  we  have  spent 
in  their  society,  hours  never  to  return,  with  a  feeling  which 
nearly  approaches  to  despair.  That  they  are  no  more ;  that 
they  have  ceased  to  think,  to  feel,  to  act,  at  least  for  us ; 
that  that  eye  which  used  to  gladden  at  our  approach  is 
dark,  and  can  no  more  beam  upon  us  with  tenderness  and 
love ;  that  those  lips  which  have  enlightened  us  with  the 
counsels  of  wisdom,  or  soothed  our  souls  with  the  accents 
of  hallowed  and  virtuous  affection,  are  silent  for  ever,  no 
more  to  solace  us  in  sorrow  ;  no  more  to  excite  or  to 
heighten  our  pleasure  :  while  these  thoughts  press  upon 
the  mind  (and  on  the  loss  of  our  dear  and  virtuous  friends 
they  do  incessantly  press  upon  it,  sinking  it  to  the  dust), 
the  universe  is  a  blank  to  us.  No  longer  do  we  discover 
any  traces  of  that  supreme  and  unchanging  goodness  which 
we  had  been  accustomed  to  contemplate  with  delight.  But 


BENEVOLENCE  OF  THE  DIVINE  LAWS. 


11 


even  in  tliese  moments  of  sadness  we  must  be  unjust  to 
ourselves,  and  to  tlie  Author  of  our  mercies,  if  we  are  not 
soon  revived  by  the  consciousness  of  benevolence,  to  which 
the  severity  of  anguish  may  for  a  while  have  made  us  in¬ 
sensible.  The  privation  of  our  friends,  afflictive  as  it  is, 
is  never  without  benefit  to  us.  It  is  then  we  feel  that  we 
are  born  for  immortality;  that  the  world  is  not  our  home; 
that  we  are  travelling1  to  a  fairer  clime  :  it  is  then  that  we 
enter  into  religion,  and  feel  its  genuine  spirit.  The  same 
happy  effects  are  often  produced  by  sickness ;  and  to  the 
natural  and  moral  disorders  which  prevail,  we  owe  the 
production  and  the  growth  of  the  highest  excellences  of 
our  nature.  In  a  word,  an  attentive  consideration  of  what 
are  termed  the  evils  of  life,  enables  us  to  discover  so  much 
of  the  truest  benevolence  in  many  of  them,  as  may  well 
induce  us  fo  bear  with  resignation  those  whose  design  we 
cannot  so  fully  comprehend,  until  it  shall  please  our 
heavenly  Father  to  give  us  clearer  light  and  stronger 
vision. 

It  is  true,  that  the  evil  we  suffer,  and,  indeed,  that  the 
general  train  of  events,  is  the  result  of  laws  which  we 
cannot  without  absurdity  suppose  the  Deity  to  be  con¬ 
tinually  changing  and  suspending  for  the  benefit  of  indi¬ 
viduals.  FTeither  does  any  rational  believer  in  a  providence 
maintain  such  an  opinion.  It  is  not  necessary  to  his  argu¬ 
ment  to  suppose  that  these  general  laws  have  ever  once 
been  suspended.  From  a  conviction  that  he  has  evidence 
of  the  fact,  he  may  believe  that  on  some  occasions  of 
supreme  importance  they  have  been  suspended;  but  the 
great  argument  for  the  doctrine  of  a  providence  would 
remain  just  the  same,  even  though  it  could  be  demon¬ 
strated  that  the  laws  by  which  the  universe  is  governed 
have  operated  with  undeviating  regularity  from  the  begin¬ 
ning.  F or  whoever  believes  that  these  general  laws  were 
appointed  by  a  Being  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness, 
must  admit  that  he  foresaw  all  the  consequences  which 
would  result  from  their  operation,  in  every  instant  of  time, 
and  to  every  individual.  If,  therefore,  when  he  appointed 
them,  he  foresaw  that  they  would  give  rise  to  any  event 
inconsistent  with  perfect  benevolence,  he  would  have  so 
modified  them  as  effectually  to  have  prevented  its  occur¬ 
rence  ;  or  he  would  have  provided  for  its  counteraction 


12 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


by  the  operation  of  secondary  causes.  Whether  the  Deity 
govern  the  universe  by  such  an  original  adjustment  as 
secures,  with  undeviating  order,  the  occurrence  of  every¬ 
thing  in  its  proper  season,  place,  and  manner,  according 
to  the  plan  which  his  wisdom  and  goodness  have  ordained ; 
or  whether  he  govern  it  by  a  continual  superintendence  of 
events,  everything',  on  either  supposition,  is  entirely  in  his 
hands.  It  is  possible  that  the  first  is  his  plan  ;  he  may 
have  adopted  the  second;  both  must  be  alike  easy  to  him  : 
but  since  both  were  equally  in  his  power,  he  can  have  been 
induced  to  choose  the  one  rather  than  the  other,  only  be¬ 
cause  the  one  is  better  adapted  than  the  other  to  accom¬ 
plish  the  purposes  of  benevolence ;  and  it  seems  scarcely 
possible  for  us  not  to  conclude  that  these  purposes  may 
be  better  effected  by  the  second  than  by  the  first,  and 
therefore  that  this  is  the  plan  which  he  has  adopted. 

To  sum  up  the  whole  argument.  If  of  every  event  all 
the  care  is  not  taken  which  it  is  right  should  be  taken, 
the  administration  of  the  world  is  imperfect ;  but  the 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  which'  are  spent  on  the 
minutest  and  the  meanest  object  we  can  contemplate, 
necessarily  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  their  author  pos¬ 
sesses  these  attributes  in  a  perfect  measure ;  and  since 
they  have  been  exerted  in  the  production  of  particular  ob¬ 
jects,  they  must  be  employed  in  the  government  of  the 
whole.  We  have  therefore  the  most  solid  ground  to  adopt 
the  sublime  and  cheering  conclusion,  that  nothing  can 
happen  -without  the  knowledge  and  permission  of  unerring 
wisdom  and  perfect  goodness,  and  that  all  the  vast  affairs 
of  the  universe,  in  every  particular  circumstance,  and  in 
every  instant  of  time,  are  under  the  wisest  and  the  best 
direction. 

The  preceding  arguments  are  founded  on  the  perfections 
which  the  Deity  is  universally  acknowledged  to  possess, 
and  their  truth  must  be  admitted  by  every  consistent 
theist :  but  if  God  have  given  to  his  intelligent  offspring  a 
revelation  of  his  will;  if  he  have  altered  the  course  of 
nature  in  attestation  of  its  truth ;  if  to  prove  the  divinity 
of  the  mission  of  the  great  personage  whom  he  raised  up 
to  communicate  it,  he  endowed  him  with  the  power  of 
performing  such  stupendous  works  as  no  being  unassisted 
by  him  could  possibly  accomplish;  if  mankind  were  in 


GOD  THE  SOVEREIGN  ARBITER  OF  EVENTS. 


13 


want  of  a  revelation ;  if  the  revelation  actually  given  be  in 
every  respect  suited  to  supply  it ;  if  it  be  calculated  to 
rectify  their  errors-,  to  purify  their  hearts,  to  exalt  their 
hopes,  to  dignify  their  pursuits,  to  promote  their  truest 
welfare  here,  and  to  prepare  them  for  pure  and  ever-in¬ 
creasing  happiness  hereafter  :  if  all  the  circumstances  of 
time,  place,  and  method  were  admirably  adapted  to  give 
it  effect,  and  to  secure  the  most  important  objects  it  is 
designed  to  accomplish,  then  is  the  doctrine  of  providence 
established  on  a  new  basis.  Every  Christian  must  believe 
that  the  affairs  of  mankind  are  under  the  direction  of  the 
Deity ;  that  he  has  not  cut  himself  off  from  all  interference 
with  the  wants  and  happiness  of  his  creatures ;  that  he 
does  interpose  for  their  welfare  as  he  sees  occasion  ;  for 
the  Christian  system  is  one  of  the  most  illustrious  and 

V 

delightful  instances  of  that  interposition. 

If  from  the  fact  itself  of  a  divine  revelation,  we  descend 
to  the  particular  doctrines  which  it  contains,  we  shall  find 
the  most  decisive  evidence  of  this  truth.  It  is  recognized 
in  every  page ;  it  is  affirmed  on  innumerable  occasions, 
and  in  every  variety  of  form.  God  is  there  represented  as 
the  Sovereign  Arbiter  of  events  ;  as  the  Great  Being1  who 
sitteth  on  the  circle  of  the  earth,  judging  among  the  nations. 
It  is  he  who  causeth  the  sun  to  shine  and  the  rain  to  de¬ 
scend  ;  it  is  he  who  giveth  healthful  and  fruitful  seasons  ; 
it  is  he  who  rideth  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  it  is  his 
voice  which  thunders  in  the  storm.  By  him  kings  reign 
and  princes  decree  justice  :  he  exalteth  one  and  abaseth 
another  :  he  turneth  round  the  mighty  wheel  of  events, 
retaining  every  individual  in  the  situation  which  he  judges 
fit.  “  He  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to 
dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth ;  he  hath  determined  their 
appointed  times,  and  the  place  of  their  habitation.” 

Our  revered  Master  assures  us  that  not  even  a  sparrow 
falleth  to  the  ground  without  the  will  of  our  heavenly 
Father  :  and  that  the  very  hairs  of  our  head  are  all  num- 
bered ;  meaning,  it  is  evident,  that  our  most  trifling  con¬ 
cerns  are  appointed  by  him.  Behold,”  says  he,  the 
fowls  of  the  air  :  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap, 
nor  gather  into  barns  ;  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth 
them.  Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they  ?  And  why 
are  ye  anxious  about  raiment  ?  Consider  the  lilies  of  the 


14 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


field,  how  they  grow  ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin  ; 
and  yet  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one 
of  these.  Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the 
field,  which  flourisheth  to-day  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into 
the  furnace,  will  he  not  much  more  clothe  you  ?  Take  not 
therefore  anxious  thought,  saying,  What  shall  we  eat,  or 
what  shall  we  drink,  or  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  ? 
For  your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  you  have  need  of 
all  these  things.  But  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his 
righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.” 

The  argument  which  our  Lord  here  employs  is  beautiful 
and  affecting.  Every  one  must  have  felt  its  force.  When 
in  a  solitary  ramble  our  eye  has  been  struck  with  a  little 
flower  blooming  in  a  secluded  spot;  when  we  have  ex¬ 
amined  the  perfection  of  all  its  parts ;  the  richness,  the 
variety,  the  exquisite  beauty  of  its  tints  ;  when  we  have 
considered  the  care  which  has  been  taken  of  this  humble 
plant,  and  the  inimitable  skill  emplo}Ted  in  the  construction 
of  it,  which  of  us  has  not  been  deeply  impressed  with  the 
truth  which  our  divine  instructor  here  teaches  us  ?  Which 
of  us  has  not  said  to  himself — Can  so  much  skill  have  been 
lavished  in  forming,  can  so  much  care  have  been  taken  in 
preserving,  this  little  flower,  and  can  I,  humble  and  in¬ 
significant  though  I  am,  be  overlooked  by  the  Author  of 
my  being  ?  It  is  impossible.  There  must  be  a  God : 
there  must  be  a  Providence  ;  and  I,  and  the  myriads  of 
creatures  who  in  common  with  me  enjoy  the  boon  of  ex¬ 
istence,  have  reason  to  rejoice. 


PAET  I.— CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE  MANNER  IN  WHICH  THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT  13 

ADMINISTERED. 

W hen  the  Deity  is  represented  as  appointing  and  con¬ 
trolling  every  event,  it  may  seem  difficult  to  conceive  how 
this  can  be  reconciled  with  the  agency  and  accountability 
of  man.  A  little  consideration,  however,  will  show  that 
these  truths  are  not  incompatible  with  each  other. 

Though  the  Sovereign  Arbiter  of  events  regulates  and 


INSTRUMENTALITY  OF  OTHER  BEINGS. 


15 


determines  everything,  vet  lie  carries  on  the  administra- 
tion  of  the  world  by  the  instrumentality  of  other  beings. 
Seldom  does  he  act  directly ;  seldom  is  he  the  immediate 
cause  of  anything.  He  has  left  the  development  of  his 
vast  plan  to  the  operation  of  what  are  termed  secondary 
causes ;  but  these  can  act  only  so  far  and  in  such  a  manner 
as  he  has  appointed. 

'  The  material  world  is  governed  by  certain  general  laws, 
which  are  never  interrupted  except  on  occasions  of  supreme 
importance,  foreseen  and  provided  for  from  the  beginning. 
These  laws,  though  thus  steady  and  invariable  in  their 
operation,  bring  about  in  every  instant  of  time  precisely 
that  condition  only  of  the  material  world  which  he  appoints, 

*J  J.  I 

and  which  is  necessary  to  carry  on  his  purposes  with  regard 
to  his  animal  and  moral  creation. 

The  animal  and  moral  world  he  governs  by  laws  equally 


fixed  and  invariable  ;  but  being  of  a  nature  different  from 
that  of  the  material  world,  they  require  to  be  governed  by 
different  laws.  By  different  laws,  therefore,  they  are 
governed  :  bv  laws  admirably  and  exactly  suited  to  its 

v  v  v 


nature,  each  is  guided  to  its  destined  end. 

*  O 


The  material  world,  being  without  sensation  and  thought, 


is-governed  by  a  particular  set  of  laws.  The  animal  world, 
possessing  sensation  and  thought,  is  governed  by  another 
set.  Bv  sensation  and  thought  an  animal  is  induced  to 

t  o 


act.  Every  animal  possesses  a  fixed  and  determinate  con¬ 
stitution,  according  to  which,  sensation  and  thought  are 
excited  in  it  in  a  particular,  determinate  manner.  The 
great  agent  in  inducing  sensation  and  thought  in  the 
animal  is  the  material  world.  A  certain  state  of  the 
material  world  will  inevitably  produce  a  certain  sensation 
in  an  animal  possessing  a  particular  constitution :  that 
sensation  will  produce  a  particular  volition,  and  that  voli¬ 
tion  will  lead,  certainly,  to  a  particular  action.  It  only 
requires,  therefore,  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  constitution 
of  the  animal  world  to  render  its  state  at  all  times  pre¬ 
cisely  what  may  be  required  :  for  he  who  perfectly  under¬ 


stands  the  constitution  of  the  material  and  the  animal 
worlds,  and  has  a  sovereign  control  over  both,  has  only  to 
adapt  the  state  of  the  one  to  that  of  the  other,  to  make 
both,  at  any  and  at  all  periods,  exactly  what  he  wishes. 
While  every  animal  goes  on  regularly  to  exercise  its  dif- 


16 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


ferent  functions,  lie  may  at  all  times  maintain  the  whole 
animal  world  in  the  condition  he  pleases  :  for  he  may  so 
modify  the  operation  of  the  material  world  upon  it,  as  in¬ 
evitably  to  bring  it  into  the  state  he  wishes.  ?  Thus  a 
sovereign  control  may  be  exercised  over  the  material  and 
animal  worlds,  while  both  invariably  act  according  to  the 
settled  principles  of  their  nature. 

If  we  ascend  in  the  scale  of  creation,  we  shall  find  that 
the  principle  of  the  Divine  administration  is  exactly  the 
same.  Man  is  endowed  not  only  with  the  faculties  of 
sensation  and  thought,  but  with  the  power  of  distinguish¬ 
ing  between  the  rectitude  and  immorality  of  conduct.  He 
is  capable  of  understanding  his  obligations  and  the  grounds 
of  them.  Certain  actions  appear  to  him  to  be  good  :  others 
he  regards  as  evil.  The  performance  of  the  one  is  attended 
with  a  consciousness  that  he  has  acted  right,  and  excites 
the  sensation  of  happiness ;  the  performance  of  the  other 
is  attended  with  an  inward  conviction  that  he  has  acted 
wrong,  and  produces  misery. 

All  this  takes  place  in  a  fixed  and  invariable  manner 
according  to  certain  laws  which  are  termed  principles  of 
his  nature,  and  the  faculty  on  which  this  discrimination 
and  feeling  depends,  is  termed  his  moral  nature. 

Now  it  is  obvious  that,  to  a  certain  extent,  a  being 
thus  endowed  may  be  governed  exactly  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner  as  a  creature  who  possesses  only  an  animal  nature.  In 
him,  as  well  as  in  the  mere  animal,  sensations  will  be  ex¬ 
cited  by  the  external  circumstances  in  which' he  is  placed. 
In  him,  too,  a  particular  sensation  will  excite  a  particular 
volition  ;  but  the  exercise  of  this  volition  will  be  attended 
with  a  result  which  is  never  found  in  the  animal :  with  a 
consciousness  that  he  has  acted  well  or  ill :  with  a  feeling 
of  approbation  or  of  disapprobation  :  with  a  sensation  of 
happiness  or  misery,  arising  purely  from  the  action  itself. 
This  train  of  sensation  becomes  itself  a  new  source  of 
action ;  but  it  arises  according  to  certain  fixed  laws,  and 
operates  as  steadily  as  any  other  principle  of  his  nature, 
or  as  any  law  of  the  material  world.  He,  therefore,  who 
perfectly  understands  this  nature,  who  knows  how  every 
circumstance  will  affect  this  moral  agent,  and  who  has  a 
sovereign  control  over  events,  can  govern  him  with  the 
same  steadiness  with  which  he  regulates  the  animal  or  the 


ADAPTATION  OP  CIRCUMSTANCES  TO  THE  END. 


17 


material  world  :  can  make  lnm  at  all  times  feel,  and  tliink, 
and  act,  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  on  the  great  designs 
of  his  administration,  without  violating  any  principle  of 
his  nature.  By  adapting  the  particular  situation  in  which 
he  is  placed,  to  the  particular  state  of  his  mind,  he  can 
excite  whatever  volition,  and  secure  whatever  action,  he 
pleases.  What  is  maintained,  then,  is,  that  with  respect 
to  every  individual  in  the  world,  there  is  this  exact  adapt¬ 
ation  of  circumstances  to  his  temper,  his  habits,  his  wants, 
so  that  while  he  is  left  to  the  full  and  free  exercise  of 
every  faculty  he  possesses,  he  can  feel  and  act  only  as  the 
Sovereign  of  the  Universe  appoints;  because  the  circum¬ 
stances  which  excite  his  sensations  and  volitions  are  de¬ 
termined  by  him.  It  is  not  just  to  suppose  that  the  Deity 
exercises  any  such  control  over  his  creatures,  as  to  force 
them  to  act  contrary  to  their  will,  or  to  violate  any  principle 
of  their  nature  :  they  always  act,  and  must  act,  according 
to  their  will  and  in  conformity  to  their  nature  ;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  he  secures  his  own  purpose  by  placing 
them  in  circumstances  which  so  operate  upon  their  nature, 
as  certainly  to  induce  the  conduct  he  requires.* 

*  It  has  been  argued  by  almost  all  who  baye  hitherto  written  on  the  origin 
of  Eyil,  that  its  existence  could  not  have  been  prevented,  unless  an  absolute  re¬ 
straint  had  been  placed  upon  the  will.  This  is  not  true  :  for  there  might  have 
been  given  to  mankind  a  knowledge  of  their  welfare  so  clear  and  strong,  as 
effectually  to  have  secured  their  choice  of  it.  In  other  words,  they  might  have 
been  brought  under  the  influence  of  motives  so  powerfully  determining  them  to 
the  choice  of  good,  that  it  would  not  have  been  possible  for  them,  their  circum¬ 
stances  remaining  the  same,  to  have  chosen  evil.  This  has  been  distinctly  ad¬ 
mitted  by  a  late  writer,  who,  though  he  has  laboured  to  reconcile,  and  sometimes 
very  successfully,  the  evil  which  actually  exists,  with  the  wisdom  and  goodness 
of  the  Deity,  yet  has  carefully  avoided  opposing  or  even  alluding  to  those  the¬ 
ological  opinions  which  involve  this  subject  in  great  and  insurmountable  diffi¬ 
culty.  “  It  is  a  position  wholly  untenable  that,  according  to  our  view  of  the 
subject,  the  degree  of  moral  evil  must  necessarily  have  been  as  great  as  it  is, 
unless  an  absolute  restraint  had  been  laid  upon  the  will  of  man.  Without 
entering  into  metaphysical  discussions,  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  the  will 
is  determined  by  the  greater  apparent  good,  and  that  when  it  makes  a  bad 
election,  in  defiance  of  reason  and  judgment,  the  dismission  of  some  present 
uneasiness,  or  the  possession  of  some  present  gratification,  is  the  greatest  ap¬ 
parent  good  for  the  time  being.  Had,  then,  their  real  interest,  upon  a  full  view 
of  their  present  and  future  condition,  been  placed  before  all  mankind  with  a 
clear  distinctness  which  we  can  certainly  conceive,  because  we  have  examples  of 
it  on  record  ;  free-will,  though  exposed*  to  less  chance  of  error,  would  not  have 
been  annihilated  ;  and  yet  it  would  have  been  as  morally  impossible  for  man  to 
choose  evil  in  opposition  to  good,  as  we  imagine  it  to  be  for  the  glorified  in¬ 
heritors  of  a  future  state  ;  as  it  proved  to  be  for  Jesus  Christ,  during  his 
adoption  of  human  nature,  with  its  temptations  and  infirmities ;  or,  to  go  no 

2 


18 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT* 


Volition  cannot  arise,  as  is  often  imagined,  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  mind.  The  term  volition  expresses  that 
state  of  the  mind  which  is  immediately  previous  to  the 
actions  which  are  called  voluntary ;  but  that  state  is  not 
induced  by  the  mind  itself,  but  by  objects  operating  upon 
it.  The  circumstances  in  which  a  percipient  being  is 
placed  excite  sensations,  and  sensations  ideas.  Sensations 
and  ideas  induce  that  peculiar  condition  of  the  mind  which 
is  termed  pleasurable,  or  its  opposite,  which  is  termed 
painful :  the  feeling  of  pleasure  excites  desire  ;  that  of 
pain,  aversion :  will  is  the  result  of  this  state  of  the  mind. 
Prove  to  the  mind  that  an  object  is  desirable,  that  is,  that 
it  will  induce  pleasure,  and  you  immediately  excite  in  it 
the  volition  to  possess  it :  prove  to  it  that  an  object  will 
occasion  pain,  and  you  excite  the  volition  to  avoid  it. 
Volition,  then,  it  is  manifest,  depends  on  the  object,  what¬ 
ever  it  be,  which  the  mind  contemplates  as  desirable  or 
otherwise.  Take  away  the  object,  there  is  no  volition; 
satisfy  it  that  the  object  can  affect  it  neither  with  pleasure 
nor  pain,  there  is  no  volition.  So  that  volition  does  not 
spring  up  in  the  mind  of  its  own  accord,  and  without 
cause,  but  is  entirely  dependent  upon  objects  perceived  to 
be,  or  supposed  to  be,  desirable.  In  a  word,  and  to  re¬ 
peat  what  lias  already  been  said,  sensations  and  ideas  are 
attended  with  the  feelings  of  pleasure  or  of  pain  :  these 
induce  desire  or  aversion,  and  these  volition,  with  as  much 
certainty  and  steadiness  a^  the  law  of  gravitation  produces 
the  phenomena  which  are  dependent  upon  it.* 

Volition  being  thus  dependent  on  the  circumstances  in 
which  an  individual  is  placed,  any  given  volition  may  be 
excited  in  him  by  a  certain  modification  of  his  circum¬ 
stances.  We  find  that  the  tempers  of  different  men  are 
infinitely  various :  the  Deity  has  made  a  corresponding 
‘  variety  in  the  situations  in  which  he  has  placed  them. 

farther,  as  it  appears  to  be  for  good  men  when  they  approach  the  termination 
of  their  course,  after  a  long  perseverance  in  the  habit  and  practice  of  virtue.” 
Treatise  on  the  Records  of  the  Creation.  By  John  Bird  Sumner,  M.A.  (after¬ 
wards  Archbishop  of  Canterbury),  vol.  ii.  p.  228. 

*  This  is  merely  an  attempt  to  explain  the  manner  in  which  volition  arises : 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  will  is  invariably  determined  by  the  greater  ap¬ 
parent  good  :  or,  to  state  the  fact  more  generally,  the  will  is  invariably  deter¬ 
mined  by  motive,  and  with  a  steadiness  and  strength  always  in  proportion  to 
the  uniformity  and  vigour  of  the  motive. 


MAN  AN  INSTRUMENT  OP  GOD*S  WILL. 


19 


To  every  individual  lie  lias  assigned  his  allotted  work  :  to 
every  intelligent  and  moral  agent  lie  lias  given  a  certain 
part  of  liis  administration  to  carry  on,  and  in  order  to 
qualify  liim  for  it,  lie  lias  adjusted  to  tlie  particular  consti¬ 
tution  of  kis  nature  every  circumstance  of  liis  being,  from 
tlie  first  instant  of  his  existence  to  that  which  terminates 
his  earthly  career.  If  what  is  termed  his  natural  disposi¬ 
tion  be  such  as  would  seem  to  render  him  incapable  of 
performing  it,  the  situation  in  which  he  is  placed  is  adapted 
to  it,  and  is  such  as  to  excite,  to  repress,  or  to  modify  it, 
till  it  becomes  exactly  what  is  necessary  to  fit  him  for  his 
work  ;  so  that  every  individual  is  strictly  an  instrument 
raised  up  and  qualified  by  God  to  carry  on  the  wise  and 
benevolent  purposes  of  his  government. 

Suppose  it  is  his  will  to  lead  men  to  the  discovery  of  the 
most  interesting  truths  respecting  the  phenomena  of  na¬ 
ture,  and  the  laws  by  which  the  universe  is  governed ;  he 
endows  an  individual  with  a  clear  and  capacious  mind  ;  he 
places  him  in  circumstances  favourable  to  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  his  intellectual  faculties  ;  he  leads  him  to  observe, 
to  reflect,  to  investigate ;  he  forms  him  to  those  habits  of 
patient  and  profound  inquiry  which  are  necessary  to  elicit 
the  truths  to  be  disclosed,  and  sufficient  to  secure  him 
from  every  temptation  to  carelessness  and  dissipation  :  he 
raised  up  a  Xewton.  Suppose  after  having  for  wise, 
though  perhaps  inscrutable,  reasons,  permitted  the  most 
low  and  degrading  notions  to  prevail  respecting  his  own 
character,  government,  and  worship,  he  determines  to  lead 
back  the  minds  of  men  to  purer  and  nobler  sentiments, 
and  to  overthrow  those  corrupt  systems  of  religion  which 
have  prevailed  for  ages,  and  in  the  support  of  which  the 
passions  and  interests  of  men  are  now  engaged,  he  raises 
up  an  individual  whose  mind  he  enlightens  ;  whose  soul  he 
fills  with  an  ardent  zeal  for  the  purity  of  religion  and  the 
simplicity  of  its  rites  ;  whose  spirit  danger  does  but  excite 
and  suffering  cannot  subdue  ;  who,  though  cities  and  em¬ 
pires  arm  against  him,  and  one  general  cry  of  execration 
and  menace  follow  him  from  land  to  land,  goes  on  with 
undaunted  courage  to  expose  abuses,  and  to  call  in  a  louder 
and  louder  voice  for  reformation :  it  is  the  voice  of  a 
Luther  which  makes  Corruption  rage  and  Superstition 
tremble.  Suppose  it  is  his  will  to  save  a  people  in  love 


20 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT/ 


with  liberty,  and  worthy  because  capable  of  enjoying  it, 
from  oppression,  and  to  exhibit  to  the  world  an  example 
of  what  the  weak  who  are  virtuous  and  united,  may  effect 
against  the  strong  who  are  corrupt  and  tyrannical :  in  the 
very  season  when  he  is  needed  he  forms,  and  in  the  very 
station  where  his  presence  is  necessary  he  places,  a  Wash¬ 
ington.  And  suppose  it  is  his  will  to  pour  the  balm  of 
consolation  into  the  wounded  heart,  to  visit  the  captive 
with  solace,  to  extend  mercy  to  the  poor  prisoner,  to  admit 
into  his  noisome  cell  the  cheering  beams  of  his  sun,  and 
his  refreshing  breezes,  he  breathes  the  genuine  spirit  of 
philanthropy  into  some  chosen  bosom  ;  he  superadds  an 
energy  which  neither  the  frown  of  power,  nor  the  menace 
of  interest,  nor  the  scorn  of  indifference,  can  abate  ;  which 
exhibits  so  strongly  to  the  view  of  men  the  horrors,  of  the 
dungeon,  as  to  force  them  to  suspend  for  a  while  their 
business  and  their  pleasures  ;  to  feel  for  the  sufferings  of 
others,  and  to  learn  the  great  lessons,  that  the  guilty  are 
still  their  brethren ;  that  it  is  better  to  reclaim  than  to 
destroy ;  that  the  punishment  which  is  excessive  is  im¬ 
moral  ;  that  that  which  does  not  aim  to  reform  is  unjust, 
and  that  which  does  not  actually  do  so,  unwise :  he  gives 
to  a  suffering  world  the  angel-spirit  of  a  Howard. 

The  bodily  frame  and  the  natural  temper  of  an  indi¬ 
vidual  may  seem,  as  has  already  been  observed,  ill  adapted 
to  execute  the  work  which  the  Deity  has  determined  to 
perform  by  him  :  yet  no  force  is  employed  to  induce  him 
to  do  it.  He  is  not  compelled  to  act  against  his  volition, 
but  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed  are  so  adapted 
to  his  corporeal,  his  mental,  and  his  moral  constitution,  as 
to  excite  the  requisite  volition.  Suppose  his  bodily  frame 
is  weak  ;  his  temper  irritable ;  his  mind  bold,  impetuous, 
and  rash  ;  the  part  assigned  him  in  the  great  drama  of  life 
requires  uncommon  bodily  exertion :  he  must  face  the 
storm  ;  he  must  endure  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold ; 
often  he  must  lie  unpillowed  and  unsheltered ;  his  fatigue 
excessive ;  the  supply  even  of  the  common  necessaries  of 
existence  scanty  and  irregular.  How  can  all  this  be  with¬ 
out  his  perishing  ?  He  is  led  to  adopt  that  regimen  and 
exercise,  together  perhaps  with  that  course  of  medicine, 
which  strengthens  his  debilitated  frame  :  gradually  he  is 
mured  to  fatigue  and  toil,  and  gradually  he  becomes 


MAN  LED  BY  THE  POWER  OF  CIRCUMSTANCES. 


21 


capable  of  sustaining  an  astonishing  degree  of  both.  In 
order  to  insure  bis  success,  the  utmost  patience,  gentle¬ 
ness,  caution,  and  foresight,  are  necessary.  But  his  temper 
is  irritable,  and  his  mind  bold,  impetuous,  and  rash. 
Experience  teaches  him  the  folly  of  indulging  this  morbid 
sensibility ;  it  occasions  him  bitter  mortification  ;  his  im¬ 
petuosity  hurries  him  into  errors  which  bring  with  them  a 
long  train  of  calamities ;  his  boldness  disappoints  his 
cherished  hopes ;  his  rashness  snatches  from  him  some 
favourite  object  at  the  very  moment  when  success  is  plac¬ 
ing  it  in  his  hand.  The  school  of  life  teaches  him  to  act 
better  the  part  of  life;  present  failure  prepares  him  for 
future  success  ;  he  learns  that,  if  he  would  escape  perpe¬ 
tual  vexation  and  lasting  misery,  he  must  check  the  first 
risings  of  passion,  reflect  before  he  acts,  and  act  with 
caution. 

Suppose  the  disposition  of  another  is  so  mild  as  almost 
to  degenerate  into  weakness  ;  his  caution  is  in  danger  of 
inducing:  irresolution  ;  and  he  is  in  the  habit  of  considering: 
and  re- considering  every  circumstance  so  minutely  and  so 
often,  that  he  nearly  loses  the  season  of  action.  He  is 
wealthy,  attached  to  wealth,  and  full  of  the  timidity  which 
is  so  often  the  companion  of  riches.  Yet  this  is  the  man 
who  is  to  take  a  leading  part  in  some  great  event  which 
requires  promptitude,  decision,  uncommon  effort,  uncon¬ 
querable  perseverance,  the  certain  sacrifice  of  a  great  por¬ 
tion  of  wealth,  perhaps  the  loss  of  all.  He  is  not  forced 
along  an  unwilling  agent;  he  is  not  surprised  out  of  the 
caution  of  his  character ;  he  does  not  give  up  his  wealth 
with  reluctance  and  murmuring.  He  is  led  to  view  the 
event  in  which  he  is  destined  to  take  so  great  a  share,  as 
so  important,  that  even  lie  ceases  to  doubt  of  the  propriety 
and  necessity  of  endeavouring  to  effect  it,  and  as  so  valu¬ 
able  that  he  deems  it  worth  the  sacrifice  he  is  called  upon 
to  make  :  the  path  marked  out  for  him  is  so  vividly  dis¬ 
played  before  his  eyes,  that  he  cannot  but  see  it :  he  thinks 
it  is  the  path  of  duty ;  he  knows  it  is  that  of  honour ;  he 
believes  it  will  be  that  of  happiness.  His  agency  in  this 
event,  therefore,  is  now  so  far  from  being  against  his  voli¬ 
tion,  that  restraint  would  be  placed  upon  that  volition  were 
he  not  the  agent  in  it  that  he  is.  This  then  is  the  way  in 
which  the  Deity  influences  his  creatures.  In  order  to 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


09 

dm 

secure  his  purposes,  he  does  not  cause  them  to  act  against 
their  volition ;  but  he  so  impresses  their  understandings 
and  their  hearts,  as  to  make  them  feel  that  their  happiness 
depends  on  the  performance  of  the  work  he  assigns  them. 

Nor  is  it  any  objection  to  this  mew  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  Divine  administration  is  carried  on,  that  it 
implies  a  constant  influence  of  the  Deity  over  the  human 
mind.  There  is  no  reasonable  being  who  does  not  exercise 
some  influence  of  this  kind  over  the  minds  of  others. 
What  a  powerful  influence  does  the  parent  exert  over  the 
child,  the  master  over  the  servant,  brother  over  brother, 
and  friend  over  friend  !  How  can  I  measure  the  degree, 
how  can  I  estimate  the  value,  of  the  influence  which  that 
revered  instructor  exercised  over  my  mind,  who  first  im¬ 
bued  it  with  the  principles  of  wisdom  and  rectitude  ?  Vfhat 
do  I  not  owe  to  that  dear  companion  of  my  youth,  on 
whose  early  intercourse  with  me  memory  still  delights  to 
dwell;  who  was  my  superior  in  age,  in  attainment,  in 
wisdom,  in  virtue ;  who  taught  me  so  much  while  seeming 
to  learn,  and  governed  me  so  entirely  without  meaning  to 
control !  How  many  of  the  sensations  which  cheer  my 
heart  at  this  hour  are  the  result  of  an  influence  which  com¬ 
menced  at  that  distant  period  !  How  much  of  my  present 
character  is  wholly  dependent  on  that  influence  !  It  was  he 
who  corrected  that  disposition,  the  seed  of  which  had  long 
lain  dormant  in  my  hearty  which  then  was  springing  up 
rapidly,  and  which,  had  it  been  suffered  to  fix  its  root 
deeply  there,  would  have  made  me  a  totally  different  being. 
It  was  he  who  first  led  me  into  that  train  of  thought  which 
directed  the  future  pursuits  of  my  mind,  placed  me  in  the 
station  of  life  I  occupy,  formed  the  connections  which  bind 
me  by  the  strongest  and  the  sweetest  ties  to  my  fellow- 
beings  ;  made  me  what  I  am,  and  determined  what  I  am 
to  be.  It  was  my  friend  who  influenced  me  :  it  was  a 
higher  Being,  a  wiser  and  better  friend,  the  unerring  and 
unchanging^  friend  of  both,  who  influenced  him. 

May  not  these  considerations  suffice  to  give  us  a  clear 
and  just  conception  of  the  kind  of  influence  which  the 
Deity  exercises  over  us,  and  by  which  he  works  his  pur¬ 
poses  in  us  and  by  us  ?  It  differs  from  that  of  our  wisest 
and  best  friend  only  in  being  as  much  wiser  and  better,  as 
wisdom  and  goodness  in  absolute  perfection  are  different 


MAX  ACCOUNTABLE  FOR  HIS  ACTIONS. 


23 


from  tlie  faint  and  transient  indications  of  tliese  attributes 
which  are  found  in  mortals. 

The  only  objection  of  importance  which  can  be  urged 
against  this  view  of  the  Divine  government  is,  that  it 
seems  to  lessen  accountability,  and  to  destroy  the  distinc¬ 
tion  between  virtue  and  wee.  Let  us  not  be  deceived  by 
the  sound  of  words.  When  we  say  that  man  is  ac¬ 
countable,  what  do  we  mean  ?  We  can  only  mean  that  he 
will  be  punished  for  doing  what  he  knows  is  wrong,  and 
rewarded  for  nerformino;  what  he  is  conscious  is  right.  It 
is  that  rectitude  of  will  which  leads  him  to  discharge  his 
duty,  which  constitutes  him  virtuous  :  it  is  that  perversion 
of  mind  which  induces  him  to  violate  it,  which  renders 
him  vicious.  When  his  volition  is  good,  and  he  obeys  it, 
we  say  that  he  is  an  object  of  approbation,  and  worthy  of 
reward :  when  his  volition  is  evil,  and  he  yields  to  it,  we 
say  that  he  is  an  object  of  disapprobation,  and  worthy  of 
punishment.  It  is  the  nature  of  his  volition  which  de¬ 


termines  our  notion  respecting  his  worth  or  his  demerit. 
We  neither  do  nor  ouo-ht  to  regard  the  cause  of  his  voli- 
tion.  It  is  the  evil  of  his  will  of  which  we  disapprove, 
and  to  which  it  is  necessary  to  apply  the  discipline  of  cor¬ 
rection. 

You  demand  why,  since  my  volition  is  independent  of 
mvself,  and  excited  bv  circumstances  over  which  I  have  no 
control,  am  I  accountable  for  its  nature,  or  liable  to  punish¬ 
ment  if  it  be  evil  ?  The  reply  is  obvious.  This  objection 
is  founded  on  the  implied  presumption  that  volition  is  in¬ 
duced  at  the  pleasure  of  the  mind,  and  that  it  is  the  exer¬ 
tion  of  this  power  in  exciting  an  evil  volition  which  con¬ 
stitutes  guilt.  For  when  it  is  asked,  Why  am  I  to  be 
punished  for  my  volition,  since  it  is  independent  of  myself  ? 
the  inquirer  must  pre-suppose  that  he  is  to  be  punished 
for  his  volition  because  it  is  dependent  upon  himself, 
which  is  assuming  as  true  the  very  point  in  dispute,  and 
raising  an  objection  on  that  assumption.  If,  however, 
there  be  any  truth  in  the  account  which  has  been  given  of 
the  origin  of  volition,  that  assumption  is  totally  fallacious. 

I  am  not  to  be  punished  for  my  volition,  you  say,  be¬ 
cause  it  is  independent  of  myself,  and  excited  by  circum¬ 
stances  over  which  I  have  no  control.  I  reply,  If  your 
volition  be  etui,  and  you  obey  it,  it  is  that  very  circum- 


24 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


stance  winch  renders  you  worthy  of  punishment,  and  that 
the  dependence  or  independence  of  the  volition  on  yourself 
does  not  at  all  affect  the  question.  Your  volition  is  evil : 
you  deserve  punishment :  why  ?  In  order  that  that  evil 
volition  may  be  corrected.  Punishment  is  not  retrospective 
but  prospective.  You  are  to  be  punished  not  because  you 
have  yielded  to  an  evil  volition ;  but  in  order  that  you  may 
yield  to  an  evil  volition  no  more.  To  inflict  pain  for  the 
past,  any  further  than  the  past  has  reference  to  the  future, 
is  revenge,  not  punishment :  were  it  perfectly  certain  that 
an  evil  volition  which  is  past  would  be  attended  with  no  ill 
consequences  in  time  to  come,  it  would  be  neither  neces¬ 
sary  nor  just  to  visit  it  with  suffering ;  but  because  an  evil 
volition  is  evil,  that  is,  because  it  tends  to  produce  unhap¬ 
piness,  it  is  to  be  punished,  in  order  that  the  misery  it 
threatens  may  be  prevented.  It  is  the  incorrect  concep¬ 
tion  which  is  formed  of  the  nature  and  object  of  punish¬ 
ment,  therefore,  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  this  objec¬ 
tion,  and  which  makes  the  subject  appear  so  difficult  to 
many  persons ;  and  I  cannot  but  think  that  all  doubt  and 
difficulty  respecting  it  will  be  removed  from  the  mind  of 
every  one  who  will  consider  with  attention  what  is  said  on 
this  subject  in  the  third  chapter  (Pt.  II.)  of  this  work. 

The  train  of  circumstances  in  which  an  individual  has 
been  placed  has  given  rise  to  a  disposition,  the  indulgence 
of  which  is  incompatible  with  his  own  happiness  and  with 
that  of  his  fellow-beings.  This  disposition  it  is  necessary 
to  correct :  this  correction  is  accomplished  by  causing  him 
to  pass  through  another  train  of  circumstances  which 
makes  him  feel  the  evil  of  his  conduct ;  and  this  discipline, 
being  attended  with  suffering,  is  expressed  by  the  term 
punishment. 

Such,  then,  being  the  foundation  of  praise  and  blame, 
of  reward  and  punishment,  it  is  obvious  that  a  person  is 
an  object  of  moral  approbation,  and  is  worthy  of  reward 
when  his  volition  is  good,  and  when  he  obeys  that  voli¬ 
tion  ;  that  he  is  an  object  of  moral  disapprobation,  and  is 
worthy  of  punishment  when  his  volition  is  evil,  and  when, 
notwithstanding  the  voice  which  speaks  within  him,  and 
which  warns  him  of  its  nature,  he  yields  to  its  impulse. 
The  gold  which  incites  the  midnight  plunderer  to  rob,  is 
not  blameable,  though  it  is  the  immediate  cause  of  the 


GENERAL  SUPERINTENDENCE  OF  THE  WORLD. 


25 


volition  which  induces  the  evil  deed :  it  is  the  volition 
itself  which  is  evil,  and  which  requires  to  be  rectified,  and 
punishment  is  the  process,  the  moral  discipline,  by  which 
its  correction  is  effected. 

Thus,  then,  we  seem  to  have  a  clear  and  just  conception 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  whole  train  of  circumstances 
which  forms  the  character  and  induces  the  conduct  of 
moral  agents,  may  be  entirely  the  appointment  of  the 
Deitv,  while  the  agents  themselves  are  at  the  same  time 
the  subjects  of  praise  and  blame,  of  reward  and  punish¬ 
ment. 

Were  there  no  evil  in  the  world  there  could  be  no 
possible  objection  to  this  view  of  the  subject.*  Were 
every  one  virtuous  and  happy,  every  heart  would  rejoice 
to  trace  to  the  Deity  its  excellences  and  its  pleasures. 
But  how  can  he  who  is  perfect  in  benignity,  be  the  author 
of  evil  ?  It  is  this  which  perplexes  the  mind,  and  the 
answer  to  the  question  involves  the  great  inquiry  about 
which  intelligent  and  pious  persons  have  in  all  ages  ex¬ 
ercised  their  most  anxious  thoughts,  and  leads  directly  to 
the  consideration  of  the  design  of  the  Deity  in  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  the  world.  Into  the  consideration  of  this 
subject  we  shall  enter  in  the  next  section :  but  before 
proceeding  to  it,  it  may  be  proper  to  notice  an  objection, 
of  minor  importance,  which  is  sometimes  urged  against  the 
doctrine  of  providence,  and  which  has  been  stated  and 
answered  in  so  excellent  a  manner  by  Dr  Price,  in  his 
admirable  Disquisition  on  Providence  (p.  47),  that  it 
seems  a  kind  of  injustice  to  the  subject  to  employ  any 
language  but  his  own  : 

o  O 

“It  has  been  often  objected  that  it  is  impairing  the 
beauty  of  the  world,  and  representing  it  as  a  production 
more  imperfect  than  any  work  of  human  art,  to  maintain 
that  it  cannot  subsist  of  itself,  or  that  it  requires  the  hand 
of  its  Maker  to  be  always  at  it  to  continue  its  motions  and 
order. 

“  The  full  answer  to  this  objection  is,  that  to  every 

*  Neither  would  there  be  the  same  objection  to  it  in  the  minds  of  many 
persons,  did  it  only  attribute  to  the  Deity  the  production  of  natural  evil.  But 
the  misery  occasioned  by  an  earthquake  or  by  disease  is  often  as  great  as  that 
produced  by  the  bad  passions  of  mankind  :  and  it  is  altogether  as  difficult  to 
account  for  the  existence  of  natural  as  of  moral  evil.  Indeed,  the  same  account 
must  be  given  of  both. 


26 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


machine  or  perpetual  movement  for  answering  any  par¬ 
ticular  purpose,  there  always  belongs  some  first  mover , 
some  weight  or  spring,  or  other  power,  which  is  continually 
acting  upon  it,  and  from  which  all  its  motions  are  derived  : 
nor,  without  such  power,  is  it  possible  to  conceive  of  any 
such  machine.  The  machine  of  the  universe  then,  like  all 
besides  analogous  to  it,  of  which  we  have  any  idea,  must 
have  a  first  mover.  Now  it  has  been  demonstrated  that 
this  first  mover  cannot  be  matter  itself.  It  follows,  there¬ 
fore,  that  this  objection  is  so  far  from  being  of  an}^  force, 
that  it  leads  us  to  the  very  conclusion  which  it  is  brought 
to  overthrow. 

“  The  excellence  of  a  machine  by  no  means  depends  on 
its  going  properly  of  itself,  for  this  is  impossible ;  but  on 
the  skill  with  which  its  various  parts  are  adjusted  to  one 
another,  and  all  its  different  effects  are  derived  from  the 
constant  action  of  some  power.  What  would  indeed  make 
a  machine  appear  imperfect  and  deformed  is,  assigning  a 
separate  power  to  every  distinct  part,  without  .allowing 
any  place  for  mechanism ;  emd,  in  like  manner,  what  would 
really  make  the  frame  of  nature  appear  imperfect  and  de¬ 
formed  is,  resolving  phenomena  too  soon  to  the  Divine 
agency,  or  supposing  it  the  immediate  cause  of  every  par¬ 
ticular  effect.  But  I  have  not  been  pleading  for  this,  but 
only,  that  however  far  mechanism  may  be  carried  and  the 
chain  of  causes  extend  In  the  material  universe,  to  the 
Divine  power  exerted  continually  in  all  places,  every  law, 
and  every  effect  and  motion  in  it,  must  be  at  last  resolved. 
This  is  a  conclusion  which  the  modern  improvements  in 
natural  philosophy  have  abundantly  confirmed,  and  which 
some  of  the  first  and  best  philosophers  have  received;  nor 
can  that  philosophy  be  otherwise  than  little  and  con¬ 
temptible  which  hides  the  Deity  from  our  views,  which 
excludes  him  from  the  world,  or  does  not  terminate  in  the 
acknowledgment  and  adoration  of  him  as  the  maker, 
preserver,  and  ruler  of  all  things.”* 

*  “  The  philosopher  who  overlooks  the  traces  of  an  all-governing  Deity  in 
nature,  contenting  himself  with  the  appearances  of  the  material  universe  only, 
and  the  mechanical  laws  of  motion,  neglects  what  is  most  excellent ;  and  pre¬ 
fers  what  is  imperfect  to  what  is  supremely  perfect,  finitude  to  infinity,  what  is 
narrow  and  weak  to  what  is  unlimited  and  almighty,  and  what  is  perishing  to 
what  endures  for  ever.” — Mr  Maclaurin’s  Account  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton’s  Dis¬ 
coveries,  Book  IV.  chap.  ix.  sect.  1. 


27 


PAET  I.— CHAPTEE  III. 

OF  THE  DESIGN  OF  THE  DIVINE  GOVEENMENT. 

Since,,  then,  there  is  a  perfect  superintendence  of  all 
event s,  they  must  be  directed  to  some  end.  The  Deity 
must  have  some  wise  and  benevolent  object  to  accomplish, 
as  the  result  of  his  administration,  and  that  object  can  be 
nothing  but  the  final  and  perfect  happiness  of  his  intelli¬ 
gent  creatures. 

With  this  view,  everything  must  be  planned,  and  to  this 
end  both  the  natural  and  the  moral  disorders  which  pre¬ 
vail  must  necessarily  conduce.  No  one  can  believe  that 
the  Deity  has  chosen  evil  for  its  own  sake.  Were  this 
the  case,  he  would  not  be  good :  were  he  to  cause  the 
least  degree  of  suffering,  merely  for  the  sake  of  producing 
pain,  it  would  be  utterly  incompatible  with  benevolence. 
Evil  in  his  hands,  therefore,  can  only  be  the  instrument  of 
good.  Nothing  can  have  induced  him  to  permit  its  ex¬ 
istence,  but  the  perception  that,  under  his  administration, 
it  will  terminate  in  the  production  of  greater  good  than 
could  have  been  enjoyed  without  it.  When  he  created  the 
world,  and  first  set  in  motion  that  train  of  events  which 
has  induced  the  actual  state  of  things,  he  foresaw  that  the 
partial  evil  which  would  arise,  would  terminate  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  a  larger  sum  of  happiness  than  could  have  been 
occasioned  by  its  prevention.  This  being  the  case,  it  is 
the  prevention,  not  the  permission,  of  this  evil  which 
would  have  militated  against  the  perfection  of  his  benevo¬ 
lence.  That  infinite  wisdom  and  almighty  power  may 
secure  this  result  from  the  partial  prevalence  of  evil,  is  at 
least  possible,  and  it  is  probable,  because  the  supposition 
is  perfectly  reasonable  in  itself,  and  accounts  for  and 
reconciles  every  appearance. 

It  has  been  distinctly  admitted  that  these  reasonings 

“  Sir  Isaac  Newton  thought  it  most  unaccountable  to  exclude  the  Deity  only 
out  of  the  universe.  It  appeared  to  him  much  more,  just  and  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  whole  chain  of  causes,  or  the  several  series  of  them,  should 
centre  in  him  as  their  source,  and  the  whole  system  appear  depending  on  him, 
the  only  Independent  Cause.” — Ibid.  sect.  5. 


28 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


are  conclusive,  and  that  the  doctrine  founded  upon  them 
must  be  allowed  to  be  established,  if  the  principle  be 
granted  that  evil  under  the  superintendence  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  benignity  is  the  means  of  producing  ultimate 
good.*  It  is  impossible  to  desire  any  other  concession 
than  this. 

That  no  formal  proof  of  this  principle  was  attempted  in 
the  preceding  editions  of  this  work,  arose  from  the  author's 
impression  that  in  assuming  it  as  true,  he  only  took  for 
granted  that  which  all  Christians  not  only  believe,  but 
glory  in  believing.  That  a  Theist,  that  a  Christian,  writ¬ 
ing  in  the  nineteenth  century,  in  a  country  in  which  the 
doctrines  of  theology  are  so  freely  discussed,  and  the 
Scriptures  so  generally  read,  should  not  only  expressly 
deny  the  beneficial  tendency  of  evil  in  the  Divine  ad¬ 
ministration,  but  positively  affirm  that  it  is  essentially  and 
ultimately  evil,  and  even  that  there  is  no  proposition  more 
indispensable  to  the  existence  of  true  religion,  as  a  habit 
of  the  mind,t  could  scarcely  have  been  expected.  How¬ 
ever,  the  position  that  evil  is  not  itself  an  end,  but  the 
means  to  some  further  end,  and  that  that  end  is  good,  is 
not,  it  must  be  confessed,  self-evident,  and  therefore  it 
may  be  proper  to  state  the  proof  of  it.  The  believer  in  the 
doctrine  of  Final  Restoration  can  have  no  other  wish  than 
that  it  should  be  considered  as  just  or  fallacious  as  this 
position  is  established  or  Debited.  Without  doubt  this  is 
the  point  on  which  the  controversy  chiefly  depends.  The 

*  “As  to  Dr  Smith’s  reasoning,  it  may  indeed  appear  perfectly  conclusive 
to  those  who  are  willing  to  admit  certain  leading  positions  on  which  the  whole 
is  made  to  rest  as  unquestionable  truths.” — Eclectic  Review,  October,  1818, 
Art.  III.  p.  338.  “  It  may  he  admitted  that  there  is  a  plausibleness  in  the 

hypothesis  to  which  we  have  already  alluded,  and  which  includes  the  whole  of 
the  argument  adduced  in  support  of"  the  doctrine  of  Final  Restitution ;  namely, 
that  evil,  moral  as  well  as  natural,  is  hut  a  means  in  the  great  machinery  of  the 
universe,  essential  to  the  higher  good  of  the  creature .” — Eclectic  Review,  p. 
346.  “  The  argument  a  priori ,  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restora¬ 

tion,  is  not  only  specious,  but  satisfactory,  if  the  one  thing  which  requires  to 

be  proved  is  taken  for  granted - if  it  be  allowed  that  evil  is  a  branch  of 

the  Divine  contrivance  for  the  production  of  a  higher  ultimate  good  to  the 
creature  ;  that  it  is  but  the  temporary  name  of  a  particular  class  of  the  dispens¬ 
ations  of  Sovereign  Beneficence  ;  if,  in  a  word,  the  foremost  and  favourite  dogma 
of  infidelity  be  conceded,  that  all  things  are  as  God  makes  them.” — Ibid.  Dec. 
1818,  Art.  IV.  p.  539. 

t  “We  question  if  there  is  a  proposition  more  indispensable  to  the  existence 
of  true  Religion,  considered  as  a  habit  of  the  mind,  than  this,  that  evil  is  essen¬ 
tially  and  ultimately  evil.” — Eclectic  Review,  October,  1818,  p.  346. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  MORAL  WORLD. 


29 


following  considerations,  wliicli  may  perhaps  tend  to  de¬ 
termine  this  previous  question,  are  submitted  to  the  calm 
and  serious  attention  of  the  reader. 

In  the  first  place,  the  constitution  of  the  physical  and 
moral  world  is  utterly  inconsistent  with  benevolence,  un¬ 
less  evil  under  the  Divine  administration  be  the  means  of 
producing  ultimate  good.  If  good  be  the  issue  of  the 
temporary  prevalence  of  evil,  there  is  no  appearance  in 
nature,  and  no  event  and  no  series  of  events  in  human  life, 
which  may  not  be  consistent  with  perfect  benevolence  :  if 
evil  be  essentially  and  ultimately  evil,  the  Author  and 
Governor  of  the  world  is  malevolent. 

The  constitution  of  the  physical  world  all  admit  is  such 
as  its  Creator  appointed  :  to  the  Creator,  therefore,  every 
one  is  obliged  to  refer  all  those  appearances  in  it  which 
are  designated  evil.  The  constitution  of  the  moral  world 
is  equally  the  appointment  of  the  same  wise  and  good 
Being.  For  he  gave  to  every  man  the  nature  he  possesses  ; 
he  placed  every  man  in  the  station  he  occupies ;  immedi¬ 
ately  or  mediately  he  is  the  cause  of  all  the  impressions 
which,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  have  been  made  on 
everv  human  being. 

But  men’s  characters  are  formed  entirely,  and  can  be 
formed  only,  by  the  impressions  which  have  been  made  on 
that  nature  which  thev  have  received  from  the  hands  of 
the  Creator.  If,  then,  God  be  the  former  of  man’s  nature, 
and  the  author  of  all  the  impressions  which  have  induced 
his  dispositions  and  volitions  and  actions,  and  if  moral  evil 
arise  in  this  constitution,  that  moral  evil  must  be  referred 
to  God’s  appointment.  This  is  the  clear  deduction  of 
reason  :  it  is  confirmed  by  the  express  declarations  of 
Scripture.* 

It  is  common  among  a  certain  class  of  theologians  to 

o  O 

make  a  distinction  between  God’s  appointment  and  his 
permission.  They  allow  that  he  permitted,  but  deny  that 
he  appointed  moral  evil.  Let  us  examine  to  what  this 
distinction  amounts.  God,  it  is  said,  permitted  moral 
evil :  it  will  be  granted  that  he  must  also  have  foreseen  it, 
that  he  must  have  foreseen  it  as  the  consequence  of  those 

*  “I  form  the  light  and  create  darkness :  I  make  peace  and  create  evil :  I 
the  Lord  do  all  these  things.” — Isa.  xlv.  6.  “  Shall  there  he  evil  in  a  city,  and 
the  Lord  hath  not  done  it  ?  ” — Amos  iii.  6. 


30 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


circumstances  in  wliicli  lie  placed  mankind,  operating  on 
the  nature  which  lie  gave  them.  From  tlie  beginning  be 
knew  certainly  that  suck  and  sucli  circumstances  operating 
on  sucli  a  creature  as  man,  would  certainly  give  origin  to 
moral  evil.  Be  man's  freedom  of  choice  perfect  as  can  be 
conceived,  He  wbo  gave  to  bim  bis  propensities,  bounding 
bis  knowledge  by  an  appointed  limit,  granting  bim  only  a 
certain  measure  of  experience,  and  bringing  bim  under 
tbe  influence  of  motives  of  a  certain  degree  of  strength, 
knew  what,  under  these  circumstances,  that  choice  would 
certainly  be :  knew  that  unless  bis  propensities  were 
altered,  or  bis  knowledge  increased,  or  bis  experience  ex¬ 
tended,  or  the  strength  of  bis  motives  weakened,  bis  choice 
would  certainly  be  sucli  as  to  involve  tbe  existence  of 
moral  evil.  Knowing  this,  be  altered  nothing.  He  ap¬ 
pointed  then  the  propensities,  be  appointed  the  degree  of 
knowledge,  be  appointed  tbe  measure  of  experience,  be  ap¬ 
pointed  tbe  strength  of  motive ;  in  a  word,  be  appointed 
all  tbe  impressions  of  which  be  foresaw  that  the  certain 
result  would  be  tbe  production  of  moral  evil  :  the  con¬ 
clusion  is  inevitable,  that  be  appointed  tbe  moral  evil. 

If,  then,  tbe  existence  of  moral  evil  must  be  referred 
ultimately  to  tbe  Deity,  one  of  two  things  necessarily 
follows,  either  that  be  appointed  it  as  a  final  end,  or  that 
be  appointed  it  for  some  further  end.  If  be  appointed  it 
as  a  final  end,  be  lias  rested  in  the  production  of  misery  as 
an  ultimate  object,  a  purpose  which  is  not  only  not  con¬ 
sistent  with  benevolence,  but  which  could  have  been  de¬ 
vised  only  by  a  being  purely  malignant.  If,  on  tbe  con¬ 
trary,  moral  evil  be  appointed  for  some  further  end,  and 
that  further  end  be  not  tbe  infliction  of  pain,  it  must  be 
tbe  production  of  happiness ;  for  no  other  can  be  con¬ 
ceived.  Either,  therefore,  tbe  Deity  is  malevolent,  or  evil 
in  bis  bands  is  the  means  of  producing  ultimate  good. 

Further,  tbe  evidence  that  physical  evil  is  an  instrument 
by  which  tbe  most  benevolent  intentions  are  accomplished, 
is  so  clear  and  full,  as  to  place  tbe  question,  as  far  as 
physical  evil  is  concerned,  beyond  all  controversy.  Tbe 
sensation  of  hunger,  for  example,  being  painful,  is  in  itself 
evil :  but  to  say  nothing  of  tbe  pleasure  connected  with 
tbe  gratification  of  tbe  appetite,  hunger  is  the  means  by 
which  an  animal  is  induced  to  take  food,  which  by  tbe 


BENEFICIAL  OPERATION  OF  ,  MORAL  EVIL. 


31 


constitution  of  its  nature  is  necessary  to  its  existence. 
Here,  tlien,  is  a  case  in  which  physical  evil  indubitably 

j  y  At  v 

terminates  in  the  production  of  good. 

The  proof  of  the  beneficial  operation  of  moral  evil  is 
equally  decisive.  The  errors  and  crimes  of  which  men 
are  guilty,  teach  them  the  most  important  lessons,  awaken 
in  their  minds  a  sense  of  the  excellence  of  virtue,  a  love 
of  it,  and  a  desire  to  possess  it,  of  which  they  were  wholly 
unconscious,  and  which  are  of  the  highest  advantage  to 
them  in  every  future  period  of  their  being.  A  single  in¬ 


stance  of  this  kind  decides  the  question  :  it  affords  an  ir¬ 


refragable  proof  that  evil  is  the  means  of  producing  incal¬ 
culable  good. 


But  if  we  examine  a  little  deeper,  we  shall  find  in  the 
verv  constitution  of  mam’s  moral  nature  irresistible  evi- 
dence  of  the  beneficial  operation  of  moral  evil.  Moral  evil 


is  evil  only  because  it  produces  misery  :  were  it  without 
this  consequence,  it  would  cease  to  be  an  object  of  aversion 
and  avoidance.  What,  then,  is  the  tendency  of  the  misery 
of  which  moral  evil  is  productive  ?  Invariably  the  cor¬ 
rection  of  moral  disorder.  Every  deviation  from  rectitude 
must  be  attended  with  suffering  :  sooner  or  later,  in  a 
greater  or  less  decree,  it  must  necessarily  be  so  :  but  that 
suffering  is  never  without  a  beneficial  tendency,  never 
without  a  tendency  to  induce  penitence  for  the  offence, 
and  a  more  steady  and  un deviating1  adherence  in  future  to 
the  path  of  virtue.  This  tendency,  it  is  true,  does  not 
always  accomplish  at  present  its  designed  end :  but  in 
many  cases  it  accomplishes  it  perfectly,  and,  therefore, 
there  is  the  best  reason  to  believe  that  ultimately  it  will 
accomplish  it  in  all.  In  the  mean  time,  no  example  can  be 
adduced  in  all  the  records  of  human  experience,  in  which 
the  certain  and  final  consequence  of  any  species  of  moral 
evil  is  pure,  unmixed  misery. 

While,  then,  it  is  thus  impossible  to  prove  that  moral 
evil  ever  terminates  in  positive  evil,  it  can  be  demonstrated 
that  it  often  terminates  in  positive  good.  Xow,  if  we 
know  not  a  single  case  in  which  moral  evil  terminates-  in 


positive  evil,  it  is  most  fallacious  to  argue,  that  it  may 
nevertheless  have  this  termination,  because  there  are  some 
instances  of  moral  evil,  the  beneficial  tendency  of  which 
we  cannot  at  present  perceive  :  but  if  we  do  know  many 


32 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


cases  in  wliicli  moral  evil  terminates  in  positive  good,  it  is 
reasonable  and  just  to  argue,  that  it  may  be  thus  produc¬ 
tive  of  ultimate  good,  even  in  those  very  cases  the  benefi¬ 
cial  tendency  of  which  we  cannot  at  present  trace. 

That  a  state  in  which  there  is  a  mixture  of  physical  and 
moral  evil,  in  which  man  is  exposed  to  danger  and  tempta¬ 
tion,  in  which  he  lias  much  to  fear  and  much  to  hope,  in 
which  he  may  render  himself  extremely  miserable  or  ex¬ 
tremely  happy,  according  to  the  rectitude  or  disorder  of 
his  conduct ;  in  a  word,  that  a  state  of  discipline,  such  as 
all  believe  the  present  to  be,  is  admirably  adapted  to  de- 
velope  and  to  strengthen  his  faculties,  and  to  form  and 
improve  his  virtues,  is  universally  admitted.  But  all  the 
development  and  strength  of  his  faculties,  all  the  forma¬ 
tion  and  improvement  of  his  virtues,  consequent  to  such  a 
state,  wholly  depend  on  the  prevalence  of  physical  and 
moral  evil.  The  constantly  returning  wants  to  which  his 
nature  is  incident,  the  inadequacy  and  precariousness  of 
the  provision  which  is  made  to  supply  them,  the  absolute 
necessity  he  is  under  from  the  danger  of  perishing  by  cold 
and  hunger  to  exert  himself  to  render  that  provision  more 
abundant  and  certain,  afford  the  stimulus  by  which  he  is 
incited  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and  gradually  to  improve  his 
condition,  till,  from  that  of  a  naked  and  houseless  savage, 
he  lias  surrounded  himself  with  all  the  conveniences  and 
comforts  of  civilized  life.  x 

Thus,  it  is  obvious  that  physical  evil  is  not  only  con¬ 
ducive  to  the  improvement  of  the  natural  condition  of  man, 
but  that  it  is  in  reality  the  very  source  to  which  he  is  in¬ 
debted  for  the  creation  of  all  those  conveniences  and  com¬ 
forts  which  so  eminently  promote  his  happiness,  and  for 
the  inestimable  advantages  which  have  resulted  from  the 
exercise  of  his  faculties  in  the  cultivation  of  the  various 
arts  on  which  the  fabrication  of  those  conveniences  and 
comforts  depend.  Nor  is  the  tendency  of  moral  evil  to 
extend  and  improve  his  moral  attainments  less  certain  and 
direct.  The  most  exalted  virtues  which  can  adorn  human 
nature,  are  not  only  promoted  by,  but  could  not  possibly 
exist  without,  the  prevalence  of  moral  evil.  If  there  were 
no  contumely  and  injustice,  there  could  be  no  forbearance  ; 
if  men  never  violated  the  rights  of  men,  nor  neglected 
their  mutual  duties,  there  could  be  no  forgiveness ;  if  there 


V 


EVIL  PRODUCES  ULTIMATE  GOOD.  33 

were  no  tendency  in  human  nature  to  pride,  there  could 
be  no  virtue  in  humility ;  if  there  were  no  wants,  nor  weak¬ 
nesses,  nor  sorrows,  and  no  dependence  of  men  on  each 
other,  there  could  be  no  „  charity,  no  sympathy,  no  com¬ 
passion,  no  generous  forgetfulness  of  his  own  to  minister 

_L  '  O  O  #  , 

to  another's  necessities  ;  if  there  were  no  temptation,  there 
could  be  no  joy,  no  glory,  from  successful  resistance ;  and 
if  no  danger,  no  fortitude  and  no  victory. 

In  whatever  shape  or  measure  evil  may  assail  the  vir¬ 
tuous,  it  is  universally  admitted,  that  to  them,  at  least,  it 
is  but  another  form  of  good.  Whether  he  be  placed  under 
the  discipline  of  physical  or  of  moral  evil,  or  of  both,  to 
the  good  man,  according  to  the  emphatic  language  of 
Scripture,  all  will  work  together  for  good.  When  the 
Psalmist  savs,  “  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been 

V  '  O  ^ 

afflicted,”  he  records  that  experience  of  the  moral  benefit 
of  adversity  to  the  truth  of  which  wise  and  reflective  men 
in  all  ages  and  all  climes  have  borne  testimony  :  to  the 
truth  of  which  all  men,  however  various  the  sources 
of  their  sorrow,  and  however  different  their  modes  of  faith, 
without  a  single  ■  dissentient  voice,  still  bear  testimony. 
Xor  can  it  be  said,  that  it  is  to  the  virtuous  only  that 
adversity  is  thus  the  minister  of  good;  for  adversity  is 
frequently  the  means  by  which  the  vicious  are  made  vir¬ 
tuous.  The  position,  therefore,  that  evil,  both  physical 
and  moral,  under  the  government  of  the  Deity,  is  the 
means  of  producing  ultimate  good,  appears  to  be  estab¬ 
lished  on  evidence  as  indubitable  and  complete  as  any  sub¬ 
ject  of  human  belief. 

This  reasoning,  it  is  obvious,  is  not  adduced  to  prove 
that  the  punishment  inflicted  on  the  wicked  in  a  future 
state  will  be  corrective  and  ultimately  restore  them  to 
purity  and  happiness.  The  precise  point  which  the  pre¬ 
ceding  arguments  are  intended  to  establish  is,  that  evil, 
both  physical  and  moral,  is  the  means  of  producing  ulti¬ 
mate  good.  One  single  case  in  which  physical  good  is 
clearly  and  certainly  produced  by  physical  evil ;  one  single 
case  in  which  moral  good  is  clearly  and  certainly  produced 
by  moral  evil,  is  sufficient  to  establish  this  position ;  espe¬ 
cially  since,  as  has  been  shown,  it  is  utterly  impossible  to 
prove  the  contrary ;  that  is,  since  no  instance  can  be 

pointed  out  in  all  nature,  and  no  example  in  all  the  records 

3 


34 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


of  human  experience,  wliicli  renders  it  certain,  or  even 
probable,  that  physical  or  moral  evil  is  absolutely  and 
ultimately  evil. 

From  the  positions,  then,  that  God  is  the  author  of  that 
constitution  of  things  in  which  physical  and  moral  evil 
originates,  that  there  are  cases  in  nature,  and  instances  in 
human  experience,  in  which  good  indubitably  results  from 
evil,  and  especially  that  the  influence  of  adversity  in  the 
formation  and  improvement  of  human  virtue  is  oftentimes 
extremely  great;  from  these  positions  it  does  not  directly 
follow,  that  all  mankind  will  ultimately  be  made  pure  and 
happy ;  but  it  does  directly  follow  that  evil  is  the  means  of 
producing  ultimate  good. 

It  does  not  seem  possible  to  resist  the  force  of  this 
reasoning  in  any  other  way  than  by  denying  the  position 
on  which  it  is  founded,  namely,  that  God  is  the  author  of 
evil,  and  by  ascribing  the  benefit  which  all  admit  some¬ 
times  results  from  evil,  not  to  the  natural  operation  of  evil, 
but  to  God’s  counteracting  and  overruling  it  for  good. 

With  regard  to  the  position,  that  God  is  not  the  author 
of  evil,  conscious  as  every  human  being  must  be  of  the  in¬ 
adequacy  of  his  faculties  to  comprehend  fully  the  origin  of 
evil,  it  becomes  him  to  speak  on  the  subject  with  profound 
humility.  But,  surely,  it  is  not  presumption  to  endeavour 
to  form  a  clear,  while  it  is  confessed  that  in  the  present 
state  it  is  not  possible  to  form  an  adequate,  conception  of 
it.  In  tracing  back  the  origin  of  evil,  then,  unless  the 
mind  be  paralyzed  by  false  fear,  the  offspring  of  false 
system,  and  unless  the  doctrine  of  Manicheeism  be  re¬ 
vived,  it  should  seem  no  more  possible  to  stop  till  we  have 
arrived  at  the  appointment  of  the  Deity,  than,  in  tracing 
back  the  series  of  second  causes,  it  is  possible  to  stop  till 
we  have  arrived  at  the  great  First  Cause  of  all  things. 

The  argument  that  the  First  Cause  must  be  himself  un¬ 
caused,  because  an  infinite  number  of  dependent  beings 
requires  a  first  and  independent  cause,  as  much  as  any  one 
in  the  series,  appears  to  be  clear  and  irresistible  :  equally 
clear  and  irresistible  is  the  argument,  that  the  same  Being 
is  the  author  of -evil,  because  he  is  the  author  of  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  nature,  both  physical  and  moral,  and  because 
he  appointed  all  the  circumstances  the  operation  of  which 
he  foreknew  would  certainly  involve  the  existence  of  evil. 


EVIL  DEPENDENT  ON  THE  LAWS  OF  NATURE. 


35 


It  deserves,  too,  to  be  well  considered,  that  the  hypo¬ 
thesis  that  evil  is  the  appointment  of  the  Deity  for  the 
promotion  of  greater  ultimate  good,  is  adequate  to  remove 
every  difficulty,  while  the  doctrine  that  he  partially  counter¬ 
acts  its  operation,  is  extremely  imperfect.  Of  physical 
evil  it  surely  cannot  be  said,  that  God  lias  no  other  rela¬ 
tion  to  it  than  that  of  benevolent  counteraction.  Physical 
evil  is  as  strictly  dependent  on  the  operation  of  the  laws 
of  nature,  as  any  physical  phenomena  whatever.  The 
structure  of  the  bodies  of  animals,  by  which  they  are  sub¬ 
ject  to  disease  and  suffering  ;  certain  constitutions  of  the 
air,  which  at  one  time  directly  impair  or  destroy  animal 
life,  and  at  another  blast  the  fruits  of  the  earth  by  which 
life  is  supported;  earthquakes,  pestilence,  and  the  calamities 
incident  to  them — the  evil  which  arises  in  all  these  cases 
is  as  strictly  dependent  on  the  operation  of  the  laws  of 
nature  as  the  q’ravitation  of  bodies  to  the  earth.  To  him 
who  appointed  these  laws,  this  evil  must  necessarily  be  re¬ 
ferred,  and  it  is  obviously  insufficient  to  say  of  any  benefit 
which  may  result  from  their  operation  that  it  is  the  conse¬ 
quence  onlv  of  his  benevolent  counteraction. 

In  like  manner  the  suffering  connected  with  moral  dis¬ 
order  as  necessarilv  results  from  the  constitution  of  the 

%J 

moral  nature  of  man,  as  physical  evil  results  from  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  nature.  That  man  must  be  rendered  unhappy 
bv  everv  deviation  from  rectitude,  is  as  much  the  conse- 
quence  of  a  law  of  his  nature  as  the  due  nourishment  of 
his  body  by  the  reception  of  nutritious  food.  That  in¬ 
estimable  advantages  result  from  this  moral  constitution 
is  universally  admitted,  and  it  is  obviously  insufficient  to 
say  of  these,  that  they  are  the  consequence  merely  of 
God’s  counteracting  and  overruling  evil;  for  surely  there 
can  be  no  more  certain  evidence  that  God  has  appointed 
or  ordained  a  thing,  than  that  he  lias  made  it  the  in¬ 
variable  result  of  a  general  law. 

In  a  word,  the  brief  but  full  answer  to  the  hypothesis 
we  are  considering  is,  that  if  God  benevolently  counteract 
evil,  he  makes  it  the  instrument  of  good.  The  imagina¬ 
tion  cannot  conceive  of  his  counteracting  evil  in  any  other 
way  than  by  his  making'  it  the  instrument  of  producing 
greater  ultimate  good.  Upon  this  very  hypothesis,  there¬ 
fore,  it  must  be  admitted,  that  evil  is  sometimes,  at  least, 


36 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


the  instrument  of  producing  ultimate  good.  The  essential 
difference  between  God^s  benevolent  counteraction  of  evil 
and  his  benevolent  causation  of  it  is,  that,  according  to 
the  former  hypothesis,  the  beneficial  effect  of  his  inter¬ 
ference  is  partial  and  imperfect :  according  to  the  latter,  it 
is  universal  and  complete. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  neither  the 
nature  nor  the  government  of  the  Deity  can  be  benevolent, 
unless  evil  be  in  every  instance  and  every  measure  in 
which  it  prevails  through  the  vast  system  which  he  at  first 
constituted,  and  which  he  constantly  superintends,  not  an 
end,  but  the  means  to  some  further  end ;  namely,  that  of 
promoting  ultimate  good  :  good,  higher  in  nature  and 
greater  in  degree  than  could  have  been  produced  with¬ 
out  it. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  reconcile  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  natural  and  moral  evil  with  infinite  wisdom  and 
goodness,  on  the  principle  that,  by  the  operation  of  evil, 
the  sum  of  happiness  produced  to  mankind  collectively  is 
greater  than  the  sum  of  misery.  It  has  even  been  con¬ 
ceived  that  this  may  be  the  case,  though  by  far  the 
greater  number  of  mankind,  after  having  been  exposed  to 
sin  and  misery  on  earth,  not  only  fail  to  obtain  happiness 
in  a  future  state,  but  suffer  excruciating  and  unceasing 
torment  through  all  the  ages  of  eternity.  How  the  few 
who  escape  this  tremendous  and  general  ruin  can,  by  any 
measure  or  duration  of  felicity,  cause  the  collective  sum  of 
happiness  to  exceed  that  of  a  misery  which  must  ever  be 
as  lasting  and  more  general  than  itself,  it  seems  impos¬ 
sible  to  conceive.  It  is  believed  that  those  who  die  in 
unrepented  sin  will  be  as  greatly  wretched  as  the  penitent 
and  pious  will  be  greatly  happy ;  that  the  disproportion  in 
their  number  will  ever  be  at  least  as  great  as  it  is  at  pre¬ 
sent,  and  the  disproportion  in  their  destiny  infinitely 
greater ;  how,  then,  upon  the  supposition  of  unmitigated, 
unmixed,  and  everlasting'  misery,  is  it  possible  that  the 
evil  which  has  produced  this  misery  can  be  the  means  of 
increasing  the  collective  sum  of  happiness  ? 

It  is  only  necessary  to  bring  the  mind  to  the  steady  and 
distinct  conception  of  what  is  really  supposed  in  a  misery 
which  involves  the  great  majority  of  mankind,  and  which 
is  at  once  as  great  as  can  be  endured,  and  as  lasting  as 


EVIL  INCREASES  THE  SUM  OP  HAPPINESS. 


37 


eternity ,  to  perceive  that  its  existence  is  impossible,  unless 
the  Author  of  the  system  in  which  it  prevails  be  cruel  and 
malignant  in  the  highest  degree.  That  myriads  and 
myriads  of  human  beings,  constituting  a  number  so  vast 
that  the  imagination  can  form  no  adequate  conception  of 
it,  should  be  doomed  to  inexpressible  torment,  and  that 
this  tremendous  mass  of  never-ending  misery  should  be 
adopted  by  a  Being  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  as 
the  means  of  producing  a  greater  collective  sum  of  happi¬ 
ness  to  his  creatures,  is  an  hypothesis  which  the  heart, 
were  it  permitted  to  indulge  its  genuine  feeling,  must 
execrate  ;  and  the  understanding,  did  not  system  prostrate 
it  in  the  dust,  reject  with  indignation. 

There  is  in  this  hypothesis  a  difficulty  which  ought 
never  to  be  lost  sight  of.  It  supposes  the  great  majority 
of  mankind  to  be  sacrificed  (and  oh,  how  sacrificed!)  to 
comparatively  a  few;  while  to  the  great  majority  thus 
sacrificed,  in  no  period  of  their  being,  in  no  manner,  in  no 
measure,  is  any  compensation  afforded.  In  no  other  part 
of  the  great  system  with  which  we  are  acquainted  is  there 
anything  like  this  !  In  the  whole  economy  of  nature  there 
is  nothing  bearing  the  slightest  analogy  to  it  ! 

The  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Deity  in  the  permission 
of  natural  and  moral  evil,  may  be  perfectly  vindicated,  and 
can  be  perfectly  vindicated  only  on  the  supposition  that, 
considered  in  relation  to  the  entire  period  of  his  being,  it 
increases  the  sum  of  happiness  to  every  individual.  And 
that  this  will  be  the  ultimate  issue  of  evil,  is  confirmed  by 
everything  which  reason  and  experience  teach  concerning 
its  nature  and  tendency,  and  is  opposed  by  nothing  but 
the  prejudices  of  a  system  which  leads  to  consequences 
truly  horrible,  and  which  is  supported  by  no  appearance 
in  nature,  by  no  testimony  of  experience,  and  by  no  in¬ 
duction  of  reason. 

If  it  be  said  that  this  is  assuming  more  than  is  abso¬ 
lutely  necessary  to  vindicate  the  Divine  perfections,  it 
must,  at  least,  be  granted,  that  the  lowest  ground  it  is 
possible  to  assume  is,  that  how  much  soever  evil  may  pre¬ 
vail,  •  every  individual  will  nevertheless  experience,  the 
whole  period  of  his  being  considered,  more  happiness  than 
misery.  If  this  position  be  denied,  no  ingenuity  can  re¬ 
concile  the  prevalence  of  evil  with  the  government  of  in- 


38 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


finite  wisdom  and  goodness  :  if  it  be  granted,  the  doctrine 
of  endless  misery  must  be  abandoned  at  once,  and  tbe 
mind  must  ultimately  rest  (as  will  be  largely  shown  here¬ 
after)  in  the  conclusion  that  evil  is  designed  to  be,  and 
actually  is,  the  means  of  increasing  the  ultimate  sum  of 
happiness  to  every  individual. 

If  it  be  objected  that,  according  to  this  view  of  evil,  the 
Deity  has  himself  violated  the  command  which  he  has 
given  to.  his  creatures,  and  has  done  evil  in  order  that 
good  may  come,  it  is  replied  that  the  consequence  may  be 
readily  admitted,  and  that  the  principle  which  justifies  the 
Di  vine  procedure  is  obvious.  To  allow  to  such  a  being  as 
man  the  liberty  of  doing  evil  with  a  good  design  would  be 
fatal,  because  he  cannot  certainly  foresee  the  effect  of  his 
conduct,  nor  control  events  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure 
his  purpose.  But  God,  being  possessed  of  perfect  know¬ 
ledge  and  almighty  power,  must  be  acquainted  with  the 
result  of  all  possible  combinations  of  circumstances,  and 
must  be  able  to  secure  it  against  all  miscarriage.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  supremely  benevolent  in  him  to  do  what  it 
would  be  ruinous  in  man  to  attempt. 

From  the  whole  of  what  has  been  said,  then,  it  appears 
that  we  may  without  presumption,  with  the  full  concur¬ 
rence  of  reason,  and  on  the  clear  warrant  of  Scripture, 
affirm,  that  when  the  Deity  placed  man  in  such  circum¬ 
stances  as  he  foresaw  would  be  attended  with  the  pro¬ 
duction  and  indulgence  of  evil  passions,  he  at  the  same 
time  perceived  that,  under  his  direction,  these  passions 
would  produce  to  mankind  collectively ,  and  to  every  indi¬ 
vidual  particularly ,  a  greater  sum  of  happiness  than  could 
have  existed  without  them.  That  the  evil  which  results 
from  the  indulgence  of  the  bad  passions  of  mankind,  may 
be  made  the  means  of  eradicating  them,  and  of  training 
the  mind  to  purity  and  benevolence,  we  have,  as  has  been 
fully  shown,  unquestionable  proof  in  the  daily  events  of 
life.  This,  then,  which  we  see  to  be  their  effect  with  re¬ 
gard  to  some  individuals  at  present,  it  is  contended,  will 
be  their  ultimate  effect  with  respect  to  all  mankind  ;  that 
this  is  the  final  cause  of  their  existence,  and  that  the 

GREAT  DESIGN  OP  THE  DEITY  IS  TO  BRING  ALL  HIS  INTELLIGENT 
OFFSPRING  TO  A  STATE  OF  PURITY  AND  HAPPINESS. 

This  doctrine  reconciles  every  difficulty,  and  throws  a 


DOCTRINE  OP  UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION. 


39 


glorious  and  cheering  light  on  all  the  dispensations  of  the 
Deity.  If  it  be  true,  everything  was  planned  by  benevo¬ 
lence  ;  everything  is  guided  by  benevolence ;  everything 
will  terminate  in  benevolence,  in  eternal  and  ever-in¬ 
creasing  felicity  to  all. 

This  doctrine,  which  represents  the  character  of  the 
Universal  Parent  in  the  most  glorious  and  affecting  light, 
and  is  benevolent  in  its  tendency  beyond  any  other 
opinion  whatever,  has  been  opposed  with  much  violence, 
by  some  of  the  best  of  men ;  and  the  worst  have  as  loudly 
exclaimed  against  it.  The  prejudices  of  the  good  and  the 
bad,  of  the  pious  and  the  profane,  equally  oppose  it  :  yet 
there  is  no  other  truth  which  seems  to  be  supported  by  so 
many  different  appearances,  or  by  evidence  derived  from 
so  many  different  sources.  And  since  it  throws  so  much 
light  on  the  character  and  dispensations  of  the  Deity,  and 
is  replete  with  such  solid  consolation,  it  may  be  useful  to 
examine  it  somewhat  at  length ;  first  considering  some  of 
the  arguments  which  appear  to  favour  it,  and  next  the  ob¬ 
jections  which  are  usually  brought  to  oppose  it. 

Because  this  doctrine  maintains  that  mankind  will  finally 
be  restored  from  sin,  and  from  the  present  and  future 
misery  which  is  its  consequence,  to  a  state  of  purity  and 
happiness,  and  that  this  will  ultimately  be  the  case  with 
respect  to  every  individual  of  the  human  race,  it  is  some¬ 
times  termed  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration, 
which  phrase,  merely  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  may 
hereafter  frequently  employ. 

Some  dispute,  however,  has  arisen  respecting  the  nature 
of  the  evidence  which  alone  can  establish  this  doctrine. 
It  will  be  vain  to  proceed,  therefore,  before  the  principles 
are  settled  upon  which  it  will  be  proper  to  conduct  the 
investigation.  The  nature  of  the  evidence  which  will  be 
deemed  legitimate  and  satisfactory,  must  be  determined 
before  it  will  avail  to  adduce  any. 


40 


PART  SECOND. 

INTRODUCTION. 

SECTION  I. 

OF  THE  KIND  OF  EVIDENCE  WHICH  IS  NECESSARY  TO  ESTABLISH 
THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  ULTIMATE  PURITY  AND  HAPPINESS  OF 
ALL  MANKIND. 

Some  persons  maintain  tRat  the  only  evidence  which 
can  establish,  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration  is  the 
direct  testimony  of  Scripture.  Tliey  seem  to  think  that 
every  proof,  however  solid  in  itself,  if  it  cannot  be  adduced 
in  the  very  words,  or,  at  least,  if  it  be  not  borne  out  by 
the  express  testimony,  of  revelation,  is  insufficient. 

Others  contend  that  there  is  nothing  in  this  doctrine 
wffiich  can  prevent  the  application  of  such  principles  or 
modes  of  reasoning  to  it  as  are  universally  deemed  just 
and  satisfactory  when  applied  to  other  subjects;  that  if 
there  be  any  doctrine  of  religion  of  which  we  can  obtain  a 
well-founded  assurance,  by  considerations  which  do  not 
derive  their  force  from  the  express  declarations  of  Scrip¬ 
ture,  or  which  are  altogether  independent  of  it,  there  can 
be  no  reason  why  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration 
may  not  be  one  of  these ;  and  that,  if  this  opinion  can 
be  established  upon  a  just  and  solid  principle,  it  is  suffi¬ 
cient,  whether  that  principle  be  derived  from  revela¬ 
tion,  or  from  any  other  source. 

If  the  first  of  these  classes  will  be  content  to  say,  No 
evidence  will  be  sufficient  to  establish  this  opinion,  unless 
it  harmonize  with  Scripture,”  there  will  remain  no  differ¬ 
ence  whatever  between  them ;  and  surely  it  is  absurd  to 
endeavour  to  establish  a  distinction  where  there  ought  to 
be  the  greatest  union.  Every  principle,  from  whatever 
source  it  be  derived,  if  it  be  just,  must  harmonize  with 
Scripture,  and  all  Scripture,  if  it  be  genuine,  and  rightly 
understood,  must  harmonize  with  every  just  principle. 
Evidence  founded  upon  a  just  principle  is  satisfactory^ 


HARMONY  BETWEEN  REASON  AND  SCRIPTURE. 


41 


from  whatever  source  it  be  derived  :  the  only  question 
which  can  affect  the  solidity  of  the  conviction  it  produces 
is  whether  it  be  just,  not  whether  it  have  this  or  that 
origin.  One  single  solid  argument  in  favour  of  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  Universal  Restoration  deduced  from  the  perfec¬ 
tions  of  God,  for  example,  is  sufficient  to  establish  its 
truth.  One  single  solid  argument  deduced  from  Scripture 
is  likewise  sufficient ;  but  if  a  solid  argument  can  be  de¬ 
rived  from  both,  the  conviction  produced  will  be  more 
complete.  In  a  word,  if  this  doctrine  be  true,  it  can  be 
established  both  by  reason  and  by  revelation  :  if  it  be  false, 
it  can  be  refuted  by  both. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  evidence  of  both  will  be 
adduced  in  the  following  pages.  The  testimony  of  reason 
adds  an  unspeakable  value  to  the  declarations  of  Scripture, 
not  because  established  Scripture  wants  the  assistance  of 
maw’s  reason,  but  because  if  a  doctrine  be  contrary  to 
reason,  we  know  that  it  is  not  the  word  of  God.  It  be¬ 
trays  an  ignorance  of  the  nature  of  both  to  pay  no  regard 
to  a  clear  deduction  of  reason,  because  it  is  not  revelation, 
or  to  maintain  that  what  is  contrary  to  reason  is  revealed 
in  Scripture,  for  truth  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  reason, 
nor  can  Scripture  and  truth  clash. 

In  adducing  the  evidence  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  ultimate  restoration  of  all  mankind  to  purity  and  hap¬ 
piness,  it  may  be  proper  to  begin  with  the  statement  of 
that  which  is  derived  from  considerations  which  have  no 
direct  reference  to  the  'positive  declarations  of  Scripture  ; 
then  to  examine  the  objections  which  are  urged  against  it, 
whether  derived  from  Scripture  or  from  other  sources  ;  and 
in  the  last  place  to  state  those  express  declarations  of 
Scripture  which  appear  to  establish  it. 

If  it  can  be  shown  that  all  the  perfections  of  the  Deity, 
that  the  nature  of  man  and  the  nature  and  design  of 
punishment,  are  completely  in  favour  of  this  doctrine,  that 
the  objections  which  have  been  urged  against  it,  whether 
derived  from  reason  or  revelation,  may  be  satisfactorily 
removed,  that  the  arguments  which  have  been  supposed  to 
establish  contrary  opinions  are  not  conclusive,  and  that 
the  Scriptures  contain  some  passages  which  can  have  no 
meaning  unless  this  doctrine  be  supposed,  others  which 
cannot  be  true  unless  it  be  admitted,  and  others  which  seem 


42 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


directly  and  positively  to  favour  it — tliis  would  seem  suffi¬ 
cient  to  convince  a  candid  inquirer  of  its  truth ;  because* 
in  this  case*  the  evidence  in  its  favour  will  not  only  be 
direct  and  positive*  but  will  be  founded  also  on  the  most 
firm  and  solid  principles*  and  there  will  be  no  evidence 
against  it.  It  will  be  the  object  of  the  following  pages  to 
establish*  in  order*  each  of  the  above  positions. 

It  may  be  proper*  however*  to  observe*  that  arguments 
may  in  reality  be  derived  from  Scripture*  which  do  not  at 
first  sight  appear  to  be  so.  Revelation  has  poured  so 
much  light  upon  the  mind*  and  has  led  us  into  such  a  just 
way  of  reasoning  concerning  Glod*  concerning  his  design 
in  creation  and  his  government  of  the  world*  that  our  con¬ 
ceptions  and  arguments*  even  when  they  do  not  appear  at 
all  to  depend  upon  this  heavenly  guide*  attain  a  degree  of 
sublimity  and  truth  to  which  they  would  never  have  ar¬ 
rived  without  it;  and  we  often  appear  to  be  following  the 
deductions  of  our  own  understanding’*  when  in  reality  we 
are  only  repeating  in  other  words*  and  with  other  associa¬ 
tions*  the  declarations  of  Scripture.  Why*  without  any 
direct  or  apparent  dependence  upon  revelation*  are  we  now 
able  to  form  such  pure  and  exalted  conceptions  of  the 
Supreme  Being  as  were  totally  unknown  to  the  great 
sages  of  antiquity  ?  It  is  because  revelation  has  furnished 
us  with  the  light  which  has  conducted  us  to  these  noble 
and  just  conclusions.  Of  our  views  of  the  perfections  of 
the  Deity*  of  his  dispensations  to  his  creatures,  of  his 
works*  and  of  his  ways*  in  a  word*  of  all  the  principles 
upon  which  the  subsequent  reasoning  is  founded*  this 
observation  is  peculiarly  true.  Although*  therefore*  the 
arguments  contained  in  the  second  part  of  this  work  may 
not  appear*  at  first  sight*  to  be  founded  upon  the  Scrip¬ 
tures*  it  is  not  just  to  conclude  that  they  have  a  different 
origin  :  for  in  so  far  as  they  are  true,  they  must  be*  either 
directly  or  indirectly*  derived  from  it,  since  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  they  could  have  been  formed  by  any 
mind  which  had  not  been  illumined  by  this  divine  light. 


43 


PART  II.— INTRODUCTION. 

SECTION  II. 

OF  THE  EVIDENCE  IN  FAVOUR  OF  THE  FINAL  RESTORATION  OF  ALL 
MANKIND  TO  PURITY  AND  HAPPINESS,  DISTINCT  FROM  THAT 
AFFORDED  BY  THE  EXPRESS  DECLARATIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

The  evidence  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of  Universal 
Restoration  distinct  from  that  afforded  by  the  express 
declarations  of  Scripture,  may  be  arranged  under  three 
heads ;  namely,  that  which  is  deducible  from  the  perfec¬ 
tions  of  God,  from  the  nature  of  man,  and  from  the  nature 
and  design  of  punishment. 

It  is  proper  to  say,  that  the  arguments  adduced  under 
each  of  these  particulars  are  distinct  from  those  afforded 
by  the  express  declarations  of  Scripture ;  because  how 
much  soever  they  may  really  depend  upon  the  light  of 
revelation  (and  for  the  reason  already  assigned  they  may 
depend  upon  it  in  a  very  great  degree),  yet  they  are  framed 
without  any  direct  reference  to  it,  and  seem  in  general  to 
be  derived  from  the  nature  of  things.  Reasoning  of  this 

.  o 

kind  is  peculiarly  satisfactory ;  and  if  the  positive  declara¬ 
tions  of  Scripture  can  be  shown  to  coincide  with  it,  to  in¬ 
clude  it,  and  to  be  founded  upon  it,  it  must  produce  a 
conviction  as  strong  as  can  be  effected  by  anything  which 
is  not  an  object  of  sense,  or  which  cannot  be  proved  upon 
the  principles  of  geometry. 


PART  II.— CHAPTER  I. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  FAVOUR  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  UNIVERSAL 
RESTORATION,  DERIVED  FROM  THE  PERFECTIONS  OF  GOD. 

SECTION  I. 

OF  THE  GOODNESS  OF  GOD. 

Were  it  assumed  that  He  who  gave  us  existence,  and 
bestowed  upon  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy,  is  a  being  of 


44 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


infinite  goodness,  it  would  be  only  taking  for  granted 
wbat  all  Christians,  and  even  all  Theists,  allow.  It  may 
be  proper,  however,  to  state  briefly  the  evidence  of  the 
perfect  benignity  of  the  Universal  Parent. 

Because  the  phenomena  of  nature  cannot  be  accounted 
for  without  the  supposition  of  a  self-existent  being,  the 
original  cause  of  all  things,  we  conclude  that  such  a  being 
exists,  and  that  since  he  is  the  cause  of  all  other  things 
and  beings,  he  must  be  independent  of  them.  Because  he 
who  could  create  such  a  w-orld  as  this,  must  be  able  to  do 
anything  which  is  not  in  itself  a  contradiction,  we  infer 
that  his  power  is  without  limits.  Because  the  exhibitions 
of  wisdom  in  every  part  of  nature  with  which  we  are  ac¬ 
quainted  surpass  all  assignable  limits,  and  because  we 
cannot  but  conceive  that  the  intelligence  which  is  dis¬ 
played  in  the  constitution  of  the  world  is  adequate  to  the 
performance  of  anything  which  is  in  its  own  nature  pos¬ 
sible,  we  conclude,  also,  that  his  wisdom  is  infinite.  From 
these  principles,  his  goodness  follows  as  a  necessary  con¬ 
sequence. 

For,  the  original  cause  of  all  things  being  absolutely 
independent,  being  infinite  in  power  and  wisdom,  must  be 
good,  since  evil  is  the  result  of  want,  weakness,  or  error. 
But  he  who  is  infinite  in  power  can  have  no  want ;  neither 
can  he  have  any  weakness ;  and  he  wdio  created  all  things 
and  gave  them  the  relations  they  possess,  cannot  but 
know  them  perfectly,  and  therefore  must  be  incapable  of 
error. 

That  evil  can  arise  from  no  other  sources  than  those 
which  have  been  mentioned  will  appear  evident  from  con¬ 
sidering  the  origin  of  any  .form  of  it  with  which  we  are 
acquainted.  Whence,  for  example,  arise  envy,  malice, 
hatred,  injustice  ?  Envy  is  the  malicious  coveting  of  a 
good  possessed  by  another  :  something-  is  desired  which 
cannot  be  attained ;  he  then  who  has  it  in  his  power  to 
obtain  all  good  must  be  incapable  of  envy.  Injustice  is 
the  withholding  of  a  good,  real  or  supposed,  from  another 
whose  right  it  is ;  he  who  has  it  in  his  power  to  obtain  all 
good,  must  therefore  be  incapable  of  injustice  :  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  every  description  of  moral  evil 
whatever. 

If  an  intelligent  being  perceive  perfectly  the  true  rela- 


GOD  MUST  BE  INCAPABLE  OF  EVIL. 


45 


tion  of  all  tilings  to  eacli  other  so  as  to  be  incapable  of 
mistake,  and  if  at  the  same  time  he  have  the  whole  of 
possibility  in  his  power,  he  must  in  the  nature  of  things 
be  incapable  of  evil  :  because  he  cannot  commit  evil 
through,  ignorance,  and  there  can  be  nothing  to  induce 
him  to  act  with  an  evil  design.  This,  then,  is  exactly  the 
idea  which  we  form  of  the  Supreme  Intelligence. 

If  this  deduction  of  the  goodness  of  God,  from  the  other 
essential  attributes  of  his  nature,  be  just,  it  will  be  con¬ 
firmed  by  the  appearances  of  his  works.  What  he  has 
done  will  satisfy  us  that  we  are  right  in  our  conception  of 
what  he  is. 

In  endeavouring  to  ascertain  from  his  works  whether  or 
not  the  Deity  be  benevolent,  we  must  conduct  our  inves¬ 
tigation  in  the  same  nanner  as  when  we  endeavour  to 
discover  his  other  perfections.  Because  in  the  objects 
around  us  we  perceive  so  many  marks  of  design,  such 
various  and  exquisite  contrivance,  we  conclude  that  their 
author  is  intelligent.  In  like  manner,  if  it  appear  that 
this  design  is  good  design,  that  this  contrivance  ministers 
not  only  to  convenience,  but  to  enjoyment,  it  will  follow 
that  its  author  is  good. 

Now  there  are  two  facts,  of  the  certainty  of  which  no 
one  who  examines  the  state  of  the  animal  creation  can 
doubt,  which  place  the  goodness  of  the  Creator  beyond  all 
question.  The  first  is,  that  pleasure  is  imparted  to  animal 
sensations,  when  no  cause  can  be  assigned  for  it  but  the 
gratification  of  the  animal :  the  second  is,  that  there  is 
more  happiness  than  misery  in  the  world.* 

The  first,  if  it  can  be  clearly  proved,  affords  a  convic¬ 
tion,  the  certainty  of  which  cannot  be  exceeded  by  any 
kind  of  evidence  whatever,  not  even  by  that  which  we 
derive  from  geometry  or  from  sense.  The  determination 
to  create  an  animal  supposes  a  determination  to  endow  it 
with  all  the  faculties  which  are  necessarv  to  its  existence. 
These  faculties,  therefore,  however  multiplied,  beautiful, 
or  exquisite,  cannot  prove  the  goodness  of  the  Cre¬ 
ator,  because  being  necessary  to  the  existence  of  the 
animal,  they  must  have  formed  a  part  of  any  design  to 
.create,  whether  good  or  malevolent.  But  if  these  faculties 

*  Each  of  these  positions  has  been  stated  and  illustrated  with  admirable  force 
and  beauty  by  Paley,  in  his  Natural  Theology. 


46 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


be  so  constituted  that  they  not  only  give  existence,  but 
make  that  existence  happy ;  if  in  general  they  cannot  be 
exercised  without  affording  enjoyment  as  well  as  life,  then 
there  is  not  only  design,  but  good  design  :  then  it  is 
evident  that  the  Creator  not  only  meant  to  give  existence, 
but  to  make  that  existence  a  blessing. 

With  all  the  animal  functions,  then,  this  is  the  case. 
They  all  minister  to  enjoyment,  while  they  sustain  the 
mysterious  principle  of  life.  There  is  not  a  single  excep¬ 
tion.  There  is  not  one  animal  function  the  common  and 
natural  exercise  of  which  is  painful  :  there  is  not  one 
whose  natural  exercise  is  not  productive  of  pleasure.* 
"Whence  could  this  possibly  happen,  but  from  the  good¬ 
ness  of  the  Creator  ? 

He  who  is  infinite  in  power  might  have  so  constituted 
an  animal  as  to  make  the  exercise  of  every  function  which 
is  necessary  to  its  existence  productive  of  exquisite  suffer¬ 
ing  ;  and  had  his  nature  been  malignant,  and  his  design 
in  creation  been  to  gratify  a  malignant  disposition,  he 
would  certainly  have  done  so.  Constituted  as  animals  at 
present  are,  it  is  necessary  to  the  continuance  of  their  life 
that  they  should  eat.  The  act  of  eating  might  have  been 
made  productive  of  exquisite  misery,  and  the  animal  have 
been  infallibly  impelled  to  it,  by  making  the  pain  of 
hunger  still  greater  than  that  of  eating.  Here,  then,  was 
an  opportunity  of  diffusing  over  the  whole  animal  creation 
a  source  of  continual  torment.  But  instead  of  this,  the 
act  is  made  pleasurable,  and  thus  becomes  the  source  of 
continual  gratification.  How  can  this  be  accounted  for, 
but  upon  the  supposition  that  he  who  had  the  diffusion  of 
both  equally  in  liis  power,  and  who  chose  to  diffuse  happi¬ 
ness  rather  than  misery,  is  good  ? 

Constituted  as  animals  at  present  are,  and  placed  amidst 
such  objects  as  those  which  surround  them,  it  was  neces¬ 
sary  that  they  should  have  the  senses  of  sight  and  of  touch. 
Now  the  eye  might  have  been  so  constructed  as  to  re¬ 
ceive  from  every  object  the  same  kind  of  impression  as  is 
felt  when  it  is  cast  upon  anything  that  is  monstrous.  The 
sense  of  touch  might  have  been  so  formed  as  to  impart 

*  Indeed  the  very  application  of  the  term  natural  is  a  decisive  proof  of  the 
goodness  of  the  Deity.  When  the  functions  of  an  animal  are  so  exercised  as  to 
alford  it  vigour,  ease,  and  enjoyment,  we  say  it  is  in  a  natural  state. 


PURE  BENIGNITY  OF  THE  CREATOR. 


47 


upon  tlie  contact  of  every  object  a  sensation  similar  to 
that  which  is  felt  when  the  surface  of  the  body  is  pierced 
with  thorns  :  and  as  the  body  must  always  be  in  contact 

y 

with  some  external  object,  this  torment  might  have  been 
experienced  diming  every  moment  of  existence.  Why, 
then,  is  not  this  the  case  ?  Why,  on  the  contrary,  do  we 
continually  receive  the  most  excpiisite  gratification  from 
all  our  senses  ?  It  can  be  resolved  into  nothing  but  the 
pure  benignity  of  the  Creator. 

This  annexation  of  pleasure  to  the  exercise  of  animal 
functions,  when  that  pleasure  is  not  at  all  necessary  to 
animal  existence,  is  a  decisive  proof  of  the  goodness  of 
the  Deity;  for  it  is  to  produce  happiness  without  doing 
anything  else  :  it  is  to  rest  in  it  as  an  ultimate  object ;  it 
is  to  do  this  in  proportion  as  happiness  prevails  beyond 
what  is  necessary  to  life ;  that  is,  in  proportion  as  it  pre¬ 
vails  at  all.  But  to  produce  happiness  for  its  own  sake,  to 
rest  in  it  as  an  ultimate  object,  is  of  the  very  essence  of 
benevolence,  and  pure  and  perfect  benevolence  can  do 
no  more.  Xeither  can  such  a  provision  for  enjoyment 
possibly  arise  from  anything  but  benevolence ;  for  an  evil 
nature  must  necessarily  be  incapable  of  it.  In  proportion, 
then,  as  happiness  is  diffused  over  the  creation  of  God,  is 
the  plenitude  of  the  proof  that  he  is  good. 

The  force  of  this  reasoning*  will  annear  to  increase  in 
proportion  as  the  faculties  of  an  animal  are  exalted,  because 
the  extension  of  the  capacity  of  enjoyment  affords  a  greater 
opportunity  for  the  display  of  that  goodness  which  pro¬ 
vides  for  its  full  and  constant  supply.  Thus  man,  endowed 
with  higher  faculties  than  those  which  characterize  mere 
animal  existence,  is  capable  of  higher  happiness.  To  him, 
in  addition  to  the  pleasures  of  sense,  for  the  enjoyment  of 
which  he  is  fitted  by  the  constitution  of  his  nature,  no  less 
than  other  animals,  are  afforded  the  nobler  gratifications 
which  arise  from  the  exercise  of  his  intellectual  faculties. 
These  faculties  are  given  him  as  the  means  of  improving 
his  condition.  Continual  exertion  is  indispensable  to  their 
development ;  and  so  admirably  is  the  structure  of  society 
adapted  to  their  nature,  that  no  one  can  exist  in  it  without 
exerting  them.  Either  to  procure  the  means  of  comfort¬ 
able  subsistence  in  the  rank  in  which  he  is  placed,  or  to 
raise  himself  to  a  higher  station,  or  to  obtain  that  measure 


48 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


of  knowledge  and  that  degree  of  general  cultivation  which 
the  progress  of  society  has  rendered  indispensable  to  his 
condition,  every  one  finds  himself  compelled  to  the  con¬ 
tinual  exertion  of  his  faculties.  By  the  operation  of  the 
same  causes  arts  are  cultivated,  manufactures  flourish, 
commerce  is  extended,  -science  facilitates  the  movements 
of  the  vast  and  complicated  machine  which  is  set  in  motion, 
and  literature  unfolds  the  treasures  which  reward  the  cul¬ 
ture  of  its  ample  regions.  To  society  the  advantage  of 
this  constant  activity  is  incalculable,  and  it  is  of  inestimable 
utility  to  the  individual.  In  these  pursuits  his  highest 
powers  are  called  forth  and  invigorated,  and  his  purest 
and  noblest  pleasures  experienced.  Yet  the  intellectual 
faculties  are  never  exerted  for  the  sake  of  the  pleasure 
they  afford.  Pleasure  is  the  unthought  of,  but  the  invari¬ 
able,  consequence  of  their  exercise.  Distinction,  fame, 
wealth,  are  the  objects  for  which  they  are  exerted ;  pleasure 
is  the  unsought,  the  incidental,  yet  the  almost  constant, 
result  of  their  exertion.  This  pleasure,  therefore,  is  as 
purely  a  gift  of  the  Creator  as  that  which  arises  from  the 
gratification  of  the  senses,  and  proves  as  decisively  his  be¬ 
nevolence  :  it  is  pleasure  gratuitously  added  to  the  exer¬ 
cise  of  faculties  which  might  be  as  perfectly  exerted  without 
it  as  with  it ;  it  affords  a  beautiful  example  of  pleasure 
rested  in  as  an  ultimate  object. 

This  pleasure,  which  is  connected  with  the  exercise  of  a 
cultivated  understanding,  is  of  constant  occurrence ;  it  is 
pure  and  unalloyed;  it  increases  with  the  improvement  of 
art  and  the  knowledge  of  nature,  and  has  no  other  limit 
than  the  perfection  of  the  one  and  the  boundary  of  the  other. 
He  whose  perceptions  are  refined  by  cultivation  is  as  if  he 
were  endowed  with  new  senses,  and  he  walks  continually 
forth  into  a  world  of  being  and  of  beauty  to  which  other 
men  are  strangers.  Everything  is  to  him  the  minister  of 
improvement  or  of  gratification.  The  sun,  the  earth,  the 
ocean,  the  mountain's  towering  height,  the  green  and 
golden  vale  stretching  far  out  below  “  its  mantle  gay,” 

And  every  odorous  plant,  and  brighter  thing 
Born  of  the  sunny  skies  and  weeping  rain, 

That  from  the  bosom  of  the  Spring, 

Starts  into  life  and  beauty  once  again, — 

every  object  that  strikes  the  sense  or  that  awakens  fancy. 


LIFE  A  SCENE  OF  ENJOYMENT. 


49 


raises  in  sueli  a  mind  trains  of  ideas  the  most  soothing, 
the  most  elevating,  and  the  most  delightful.  And  yet 
that  a  pile  of  ruins,  “  some  Abbey’s  mould’ring  towers,” 
that  the  productions  of  Art  or  the  discoveries  of  Science, 
that  Painting,  Music,  Poetry,  Eloquence,  Philosophy, 
should  excite  or  recall  pleasurable  emotions,  is  no  more  a 
necessary  consequence  of  the  exertion  of  the  mental  facul¬ 
ties,  than  that  a  beautiful  colour  or  an  harmonious  sound 
should  agreeably  affect  its  appropriate  sense.  Pleasure  is 
gratuitously  superadded  by  the  abounding  goodness  of  the 
Creator.  And  when  the  pure  nature  of  that  pleasure  is 
considered,  the  abundance  of  the  objects  and  the  frequency 
of  the  occasions  which  excite  it,  together  with  its  wonderful 
tendency  to  expand  the  mind,  and  thereby  to  enlarge  the 
capacity  it  supplies,  it  is  surely  impossible  not  to  admire 
and  adore  the  goodness  which,  in  thus  constituting  the 
human  faculties,  has  made  such  ample  and  unfailing  pro¬ 
vision  for  human  enjoyment. 

The  second  fact  upon  which  the  benevolence  of  the 
Deity  is  founded  is,  that  there  is  more  happiness  than 
misery  through  the  whole  of  the  animal  creation.  Were 
it  not  so,  we  should  see  all  animals  tired  of  life,  and  eager 
to  throw  off  the  burthen  of  existence.  But  the  reverse  is 
the  fact.  What  exertions  do  they  not  all  make  to  prolong 
their  being  !  How  are  all  their  faculties  continually  upon 
the  stretch  to  preserve  themselves  from  danger  !  How 
various,  how  wonderful  are  their  resources  !  How  tena¬ 
ciously  do  they  cling;  to  existence  even  to  its  latest  moment ! 

What  a  scene  of  enjoyment  does  the  tribe  of  insects,  of 
fishes,  of  all  the  inferior  animals,  exhibit  from  the  begin¬ 
ning  to  the  end  of  life  !  Those  whose  conformation  fits 
them  for  motion,  how  delighted  are  they  to  run,  to  fly,  to 
leap,  to  swim  ;  how  incessantly  are  they  gliding  from  place 
to  place,  without  any  apparent  object,  deriving  gratifica¬ 
tion  from  the  mere  exercise  of  their  limbs  !  Those  which 
delight  in  rest,  how  happy  are  they  in  the  loneliness  of  the 
shade  ;  in  basking  in  the  sun  or  grazing  in  the  field  !  In 
a  summer  evening  how  exhilarating  is  it  to  the  spirits,  to 
leave  for  a  while  the  busy  hum  of  men,  and  wander  beneath 
the  clear  blue  sky,  and  amidst  Nature’s  own  works  !  What 
millions  of  happy  creatures  everywhere  surround  us  ! 

Above,  around,  beneath,  everything  is  in  motion  and 

4 


50 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


everything  is  happy.  The  air,  the  earth,  the  water,  every 
tree,  and  every  shrub,  and  every  little  blade  of  grass, 
teems  with  delighted  existence.  Scarcely  can  we  fix  the 
eye  upon  a  single  spot  in  which  there  is  not  life  and  hap¬ 
piness  !  Which  of  the  millions  of  creatures  that  press 
upon  our  sight  is  in  pain  ?  Which  of  them  does  not .  by 
every  movement  declare  that,  to  the  full  measure  of  its 
capacity,  it  is  happy  ? 

This  felicity  seems  to  belong  to  and  to  characterize 
animal  life,  during  the  whole  period  of  its  existence.  It 
is  exempt  from  almost  all  the  sources  of  infelicity  which 
impair  the  happiness  of  man,  and  fill  him  with  gloom  and 
sorrow.  It  is  not  subject  to  much  disease,  and  that  which 
accident  or  natural  decay  does  induce  is  of  short  continu¬ 
ance.  It  spends  the  measure  of  its  days  in  sportiveness 
and  pleasure,  and  when  its  last  moment  comes,  it  arrives 
without  giving  any  previous  indication  of  its  approach, 
and  all  consciousness  ceases  suddenly,  and  with  little  pain. 

Now  when  we  consider  the  extent  and  the  fulness  of 
creation ;  when  we  remember  that  it  is  scarcely  possible, 
as  has  just  been  observed,  to  fix  the  eye  upon  the  minutest 
spot  where  there  is  not  life ;  when,  under  this  impression, 
we  endeavour  to  calculate  how  many  creatures  there  some¬ 
times  are  upon  one  single  leaf;  upon  all  the  leaves  on  one 
tree  ;  how  many,  therefore,  in  one  field ;  how  many  in  all 
the  fields  which  the  eye  can  take  in  at  a  single  glance  ;  how 
many  in  ail  the  fields  in  one  country ;  when  we  remember 
that  each  of  these  creatures  is  in  a  state  of  positive  happi¬ 
ness,  and  then  endeavour  to  calculate  the  collective  sum 
of  enjoyment  in  one  country — can  we  help  exclaiming’. 
What  an  effort  of  benevolence  was  creation  !  Can  we 
doubt  the  goodness  of  its  Author  ? 

Even  among  men  there  is  in  reality  much  less  misery 
than  is  commonly  imagined.  Many  persons  can  recount 
every  period  of  their  life  in  which  they  were  unhappy; 
others  can  scarcely  mention  a  single  misfortune  which  ever 
befell  them;  and  those  on  whom  the  afflictive  dispensa¬ 
tions  of  Heaven  have  fallen  more  heavily,  how  distinctly 
are  these  days  of  visitation  marked  in  their  memory  i 
But  can  they  recount  with  equal  facility  their  days  of  hap¬ 
piness  ?  Can  they  number  up,  not  their  moments  or  their 
hours,  but  even  their  weeks  and  their  months  of  enjoy- 


MAX  EXJOTS  IXFIXITELY  MORE  THAN  HE  SUFFERS. 


51 


ment  ?  They  have  forgotten  the  periods  of  their  happiness  : 
they  remember  those  only  in  which  they  were  miserable. 
The  reason  is  obvious.  The  one  is  a  common  occurrence,  the 
usual  and  ordinary  state  of  things  :  the  other  is  a  singular 
event ;  it  happened  only  at  distant  intervals,  was  quite  out 
of  the  general  course,  and  therefore  the  mind  distinctly 
marked,  and  the  memory  retains  it.  We  notice  an  eclipse, 
we  talk  of  it,  but  we  do  not  so  much  observe  the  daily 
splendour  of  the  sun.  We  may  enjoy  its  light  and  heat 
many  months  without  thinking  of  it,  and  the  reason  is  the 
same  in  both  cases.  We  observe  what  is  unusual,  but  that 
which  is  familiar  makes  no  remarkable  impression.  This 
consideration  alone  is  sufficient  to  convince  us  that  we 
enjoy  infinitely  more  than  we  suffer. 

But  we  are  able  to  go  much  further,  and  to  affirm,  that  even 
in  those  periods,  few  as  they  are,  in  which  we  were  unhappy, 
and  which  we  have  been  accustomed  to  consider  as  distin¬ 
guished  by  misery  alone,  we  really  suffered  very  little  com¬ 
pared  with  what  we  have  been  in  the  habit  of  believing. 
We  are  seized,  let  us  suppose,  with  an  acute  disease.  It 
attacks  some  vital  organ,  induces  extreme  debility,  and 
threatens  the  speedy  extinction  of  life.  All  this  time  the 
bodilv  suffering  inflicted  is  often  slight.  The  most  violent 
diseases,  that  is,  those  which  most  surely  and  suddenly 
destroy  life,  are  by  no  means  painful :  indeed,  those  which 
occasion  great  pain  are  remarkably  few ;  and  those  which 
produce  both  severe  and  constant  pain  are  still  more  rare. 
Yet  from  the  general  mode  of  expression,  and  perhaps 
from  the  prevailing  impression  of  the  mind,  it  would  seem 
as  if  much  suffering  were  experienced  from  the  commence¬ 
ment  till  the  complete  termination  of  a  disease ;  but  this  is 
certainly  not  the  case.  In  many  diseases  of  a  most  afflic¬ 
tive  nature,  hour  after  hour  passes  away  without  anything 
being  felt  which  can  justly  be  termed  pain  :  paroxysms  of 
suffering  sometimes  occur,  but  it  is  seldom  that  they  last 
long :  rest  and  ease  speedily  succeed ;  and  indeed  exacer¬ 
bation  implies  remission.  Xor  ought  it  to  be  forgotten, 
that  these  intervals  are  often  amongst  the  sweetest  and  most 
valued  moments  of  existence,  the  preceding  pain  giving 
a  keen  and  exquisite  relish  for  enjoyment;  while  the 
thoughts  with  which  the  mind  amuses  itself  in  sickness, 
the  hope  of  recovery,  and  the  attentions  of  kind  and  ten- 

4  * 


52 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


der  friends,  greatly  lessen  and  counterbalance  tlie  actual 
sum  of  misery  endured.  Indeed,  disease,  taking  tlie  most 
extensive  view  of  it,  seems  destructive  to  the  life  rather 
than  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  sentient  being;  and,  in  fact, 
the  first  is  the  final  cause  of  disease ;  the  second  is  only  an 
accidental  consequence. 

These  observations  may  be  applied  with  equal  justice  to 
the  afflictions  of  the  mind.  Whatever  be  the  nature  or 
magnitude  of  the  calamity  with  which  it  is  visited,  it  is 
never  constantly,  nor  even  for  a  long  period  together, 
under  its  influence.  Whoever  will  consider  the  conduct  of 
his  mind  under  the  severest  misfortune,  will  soon  be  con¬ 
vinced  of  this  fact.  He  will  perceive  that  a  thousand  ob¬ 
jects  came  in  to  attract  his  attention  from  the  subject  of 
his  sorrow,  of  which  he  was  unconscious  at  the  time,  and 
to  which  he  yielded  without  knowing  it :  that  the  mind  has 
numberless  sources  of  pleasure  to  which  in  its  most  gloomy 
hour  it  soon  spontaneously  betakes  itself,  and  that  it  is 
impossible  to  chain  it  down  to  perpetual  afflictive  thought. 
If  he  will  carefully  compare  the  number  of  minutes  in 
which  he  is  sure  that  his  attention  was  fixed  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  his  misfortune,  with  those  in  which  he  is  satisfied 
that  it  was  occupied  with  other  objects,  he  will  be  so  far 
from  believing  he  contemplated  it  incessantly,  that  he  will 
wonder  he  thought  of  it  so  little.  At  particular  periods, 
indeed,  he  dwelt  upon  and  felt  all  his  wretchedness  :  these 
periods,  perhaps,  are  distinctly  marked  in  his  memory,  but 
he  has  forgotten  the  hours  of  abstraction  from  his  sorrow 
which  intervened,  and  for  the  same  reason  that  he  has  for¬ 
gotten  so  many  of  his  peaceful  days.  Now  the  bestowment 
of  this  constitution  of  mind  is  of  the  very  essence  of  bene¬ 
volence.  Language  cannot  express  the  kindness  there  is 
in  it,  nor  are  we  at  all  able  to  estimate  the  relief  we  owe  to 
it  from  the  afflictions  which  befall  us. 

Thus,  then,  it  appears  that  pleasure  not  only  preponder¬ 
ates  over  pain,  but  that  this  is  often  the  case  even  in  the 
most  unhappy  periods  of  existence.  And  in  the  ordinary 
circumstances  of  life,  how  great  is  that  pleasure  ;  how 
various,  how  exquisite,  how  far  surpassing  our  ability  to 
estimate  !  Contemplate  a  person  placed  in  the  ordinary 
circumstances  of  life  ;  suppose  him  addicted  to  no  particu¬ 
lar  vice,  nor  practising  any  exemplary  virtue ;  neither  highly 


PLEASURES  OP  RETROSPECTION  AND  ANTICIPATION.  53 

favoured  with  the  gifts  of  understanding  nor  of  fortune  ;  of 
what  pleasure  is  he  capable,  and  what  pleasure  does  he 
actually  enjoy  !  What  gratification  does  he  every  hour 
receive  from  his  different  senses  ;  from  the  exercise  of  his 
intellectual  faculties ;  from  his  social  affections  ;  from  the 
relations  which  connect  him  with  his  fellow-beings,  those 
relations  so  dear  and  sacred,  which  constitute  him  a  father, 
a  husband,  a  brother,  a  friend  ! 

But  suppose  him  not  only  addicted  to  no  vice,  but  highly 
virtuous,  to  feel  a  deep  sense  of  his  obligations  to  the 
Supreme  Being,  to  love  him,  to  take  a  sincere  pleasure  in 
learning  and  obeying  his  laws,  and  in  preparing  to  meet 
him  in  those  blissful  regions,  where  he  will  enjoy  such 
superior  displays  of  his  perfections  and  glory  :  suppose 
him  to  consider  all  his  fellow-creatures  as  brethren,  to 
feel  for  them  a  real  and  fraternal  affection,  and  to  delight 
in  doing  them  all  the  good  offices  in  his  power:  in  a  word, 
suppose  him  to  be  a  sincere  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  what 
exquisite  felicity  does  such  a  being  enjoy  !  How  sublime 
in  its  nature !  How  immortal  in  its  duration !  How  near¬ 
ly  does  it  assimilate  him  to  the  Supreme  Being  himself ! 
Who  can  believe  that  such  faculties  and  such  happiness  can 
be  bounded  by  the  current  of  time,  or  swept  away  amidst 
the  low  and  frivolous  objects  which  it  is  bearing  to  eternal 
oblivion ;  that  they  are  imparted  only  to  give  dignity  to 
the  triumph  of  death,  and  importance  to  the  spoil  of  the 
grave,  and  that  the  very  benignity  of  their  author  is  ques¬ 
tionable  ? 

There  is  yet  another  circumstance  in  the  constitution  of 
our  nature  which  proves  both  the  benevolence  of  the  prin¬ 
ciple  on  which  it  is  constructed,  and  the  preponderance  of 
happiness  actually  experienced,  namely,  the  pleasure  afford¬ 
ed  by  retrospection  and  anticipation.  The  fact  that  the 
recollection  of  the  places  we  have  visited,  the  persons  we 
have  seen,  the  companions  with  whom  we  have  associated, 
the  occupations  in  which  we  have  engaged,  and  the  gen¬ 
eral  train  of  events  which  have  befallen  us,  and  which  con¬ 
stitute  the  little  history  of  ourselves,  is  pleasurable,  is  sel¬ 
dom  denied.  And  there  are  places  and  persons  and  periods, 
periods  in  some  cases  comprehending  months  and  years, 
which  we  can  never  think  of  without  extreme  delight;.  Hence 
the  magic  there  is  in  the  name  of  country,  home,  and 


54 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


friend:  and  Hence  the  pleasure,  perhaps  the  most  exquisite 
the  mind  ever  tastes,  with  which  it  dwells  on  some  bright 
and  blissful  moments  of  existence,  or  on  some  spots  with 
the  recollection  of  the  objects  of  which  are  inseparably 
associated  its  own  thoughts  and  emotions.  Becollection,  it 
is  true,  does  not  in  general  afford  this  acute  and  exquisite 
pleasure,  but  in  general  it  does  afford  pleasure.  But  recol¬ 
lection  is  only  the  compound  vestige  of  all  the  pleasures 
and  pains  which  have  been  associated  with  the  objects  con¬ 
templated.  If,  therefore,  recollection  be  upon  the  whole 
pleasurable,  the  balance  must  of  necessity  have  been  in 
favour  of  pleasure. 

And  the  feeling  with  which  we  look  forward  to  the 
future  is,  for  the  most  part,  not  only  pleasurable,  but  exhil¬ 
arating.  Hope  is  the  balm  of  life.  As  many  pains  which 
once  produced  considerable  suffering  are  softened  and  even 
converted  into  actual  pleasures,  so  the  fear  which  occasion¬ 
ally  mingles  with  hope  is  seldom  sufficient  to  deprive  it  of 
its  charm.  But  in  fact  we  live  in  the  past  and  in  the 
future  :  the  pleasures  and  pains  produced  by  present  cir¬ 
cumstances  have  a  very  inconsiderable  influence  on  present 
feeling :  that  feeling  depends  almost  entirely  on  recollec¬ 
tion  and  anticipation,  and  these  faculties  are  made  the 
sources  of  pleasure.  There  is  nothing  in  the  structure  of 
the  bodily  frame  more  indicative  of  wisdom,  than  this  men¬ 
tal  constitution  is  demonstrative  of  goodness. 

The  constitution  of  our  social  nature  also  is  such  as  to 
insure  the  continual  augmentation  of  happiness.  We  are 
made  mutually  dependent.  It  is  an  essential  part  of 
the  plan  of  the  Deity,  that  the  highest  happiness  enjoyed 
by  man  should  be  communicated  by  man.  But  the  happi¬ 
ness  one  person  receives  from  another  endears  to  him  the 
author  of  His  pleasure,  and  makes  him  wish  to  show  to  his 
benefactor  the  like  kindness  :  if,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
person  be  the  occasion  of  misery  to  another,  this  not  only 
checks  any  expressions  of  kindness,  but  puts  the  injured 
one  thinking  how  he  can  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  injury, 
and,  by  the  infliction  of  positive  pain,  make  the  evil-doer 
feel  that  he  cannot  invade  another’s  happiness  without 
losing  his  own.  Thus  in  a  two-fold  manner  self-love  is 
rendered  the  instrument  of  increasing  happiness.  The 
operation  of  this  principle  must,  therefore,  be  to  augment 


TO  PRODUCE  MISERY  IS  WROXG. 


55 


benevolence  without  limits;  to  check  malevolence  in  its 
origin,  and  ultimately  to  destroy  it.  It  is  not  possible  to 
conceive  a  more  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  provision 
which  the  Creator  has  made  in  the  very  frame  of  our 
nature  for  our  happiness.  But  it  does  more  than  this  :  it 
proves  in  the  clearest  manner  the  infinite  benevolence  of 
the  Creator  himself.  For  it  renders  benevolence  insepar¬ 
able  from  knowledge,  it  shows  that  benevolence  must  arise 
in  all  beings  in  proportion  to  their  experience  of  good  and 
evil,  and  their  acquaintance  with  causes  and  effects. 
Hence  it  has  been  most  justly  argued,  that  benevolence 
arises  as  necessarily  in  an  intelligent  nature  as  self-love 
does  in  a  sensitive  nature  :  that  -moral  distinctions  are 
founded  in  truth  :  that  every  being  who  perceives  truth 
must  perceive  them  :  that  the  Deity,  therefore,  who  per¬ 
ceives  all  truth  must  perceive  them  in  all  their  extent  and 
obligation,  and  be  more  under  their  influence  than  any 
other  being.  But  the  chief  of  all  moral  distinctions  is, 
that  it  is  right  to  communicate  happiness,  and  wrong  to 
produce  misery.  This  distinction  God,  as  intelligent,  must 
perceive,  and.  the  perception  of  it  is  the  same  with  the 
approbation  of  beneficence,  and  the  disapprobation  of  its 
contrarv.  A  stronger  argument  cannot  exist  :  it  shows 
that  the  principle  of  benevolence  in  the  Deity  is  implied  in 
his  perception  of  the  truth,  and  that  it  is  just  as  certain 
that-  he  is  good,  as  it  is  that  we  say  right  when  we  say  that 
happiness  is  better  than  misery.  The  natures  of  happiness 
and  misery  being  such,  that  a  preference  of  one  of  them  to 
the  other  must  arise  in  every  mind  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  in  which  they  are  known,  it  follows  with  the  plainest 
evidence,  that  the  Supreme  Intelligence  must  be  original 
and  supreme  benevolence,  or  such  a  benevolence  as  nothing 
can  turn  aside  or  deceive  or  counteract.* 

In  a  word,  the  Creator  must  either  be  benevolent  or 
malevolent.  Suppose  him  to  be  malevolent  :  suppose  his 
design  in  creation  to  have  been  to  produce  misery ;  in  this 
case  evil  would  have  been  the  aim  of  nature  in  ail  its 
appointments,  and  good  would  have  been,  as  evil  is  now, 
always  the  consequence  either  of  some  regulation  for  pro¬ 
ducing  general  misery  or  of  some  unnatural  violence  and 

*  Dr  Price’s  Sermon,  VIII,  Of  the  Goodness  of  God,  pp.  269,  &c. 


56 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


perversion.  All  design  in  tlie  frame  of  nature  would  liave 
been  cruel  design,  and  all  that  wisdom  of  God  in  his  works 
which  we  now  admire  and  adore  we  should  liave  dreaded 
as  a  contrivance  to  extend  distress  and  cursed  as  an  expe¬ 
dient  to  render  pain  more  pungent  and  permanent.  The 
ordinary  state  of  every  being  would  have  been,  not  a  state 
of  ease  and  enjoyment,  but  of  trouble  and  anguish.  “  The 
lower  animals  and  all  inanimate  nature,  instead  of  being 
made  to  minister  to  our  delight  and  accommodation,  would 
have  been  made  to  annoy  and  harass  us.  The  bee  would 
have  been  without  his  honey  and  the  rose  without  its  fra¬ 
grance.  The  fields  would  have  wanted  their  cheerful 
green  and  gay  flowers.  The  fire  would  have  scorched 
without  warming  us.  The  light  of  day  would  have  dazzled 
without  cheering  us.  Every  breath  of  air  would  have  cut 
us  like  the  point  of  a  sword.  The  appetites  and  senses 
would  have  been  the  instruments  of  torture,  and  never  of 
pleasure  to  us,  except  when  turned  out  of  their  common 
course  by  incidental  causes.  Every  touch  would  have  felt 
like  the  rubbing  of  a  wound.  Every  taste  would  have 
been  a  bitter,  and  every  sound  a  scream.  Our  imagina¬ 
tions  would  have  presented  nothing  but  frightful  spectres 
to  us.  Our  thoughts  wrould  have  been  the  seat  of  a  deep 
and  constant  melancholy,  and  our  reason  would  have 
served  only  to  show  us  our  wretchedness.  What  we  now 
call  gratification  would  have  been  nothing  but  a  relaxation 
of  torment,  and  we  should  have  been  driven  to  the  offices 
necessary  for  self-preservation,  by  an  increase  of  sufferings 
occasioned  by  neglecting  them.  Or  if  at  any  time  any 
feelings  of  delight  were  granted  us,  they  would  have  been, 
as  the  paroxysms  of  pain  are  at  present,  transient  and 
rare,  and  intended  only  to  set  a  keener  edge  on  misery  by 
giving  a  taste  of  its  contrary. 

“  In  the  present  state  of  the  world,  our  pains,  when  they 
become  extreme,  soon  make  an  end  of  either  themselves  or 
us.  But  in  the  state  of  things  we  are  imagining,  there 
could  have  been  no  such  merciful  appointment  :  for  our 
bodies,  probably,  would  have  been  so  made  as  to  be  capa¬ 
ble  of  bearing  the  severest  pains,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
we  might  have  been  deterred  from  self-violence  by  know¬ 
ing,  that  the  consequence  of  hastening  death  would  be 


EVIL  OF  DEFECT. - NATURAL  AND  MORAL  EVIL.  57 

getting  sooner  into  a  state  of  misery  still  more  dreadful,, 
and  which,  would  never  come  to  an  end.”  * 

It  is  impossible  to  contrast  our  actual  condition  with 
that  which  is  here  imagined,  without  a  deep  and  joyful 
feeling,  that  he  who  gave  us  life  and  all  things  richly  to 
eniov  is  a  Being;  of  infinite  benevolence. 

But  if  he  be  really  so,  whence  is  misery  ?  He  is  al¬ 
mighty,  and  therefore  he  can  have  been  controlled  by  no 
superior  power.  He  is  absolute  wisdom :  to  him  are 
known  the  true  natures  of  all  things  :  he  must  therefore 
be  perfectly  benevolent.  And  because  he  is  pure  reason, 
he  can  have  no  tendencies  opposed  to  benevolence ;  for 
reason  cannot  be  the  ground  of  approbation  of  beneficence, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  biases  inconsistent  with  it. 
Alienee  then  is  evil  ?  It  is  impossible  even  while  contem¬ 
plating  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  Divine  good¬ 
ness  not  to  ask  this  question.  To  have  a  clear  and  just 
conception  of  the  answer  to  it,  is  to  be  happy  under  almost 
all  the  events  of  life,  and  secure  and  resigned  under  its 
worst  ills ;  and  though  the  true  answer  to  it  may  be 
collected  from  what  has  been  already  advanced,  yet  this 
subject  is  of  such  unspeakable  importance,  that  it  demands 
a  more  particular  consideration. 


PART  II. 

CHAPTER  I.— Section  II. 

OF  THE  EVIL  OF  DEFECT,  AND  OF  NATURAL  AND  MORAL  EVIL. 

The  origin  of  evil  has  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
most  profound  and  pious  minds  from  the  earliest  periods 
of  which  we  have  anv  record,  and  the  investigation  of  it 
still  continues  to  exercise  the  highest  faculties  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  enlightened  men.  It  must  be  confessed 
that  we  do  not  comprehend  it.  Perhaps  our  present 
faculties  are  not  capacious  enough  to  take  in  that  vast 
extent  and  that  various  kind  of  knowledge  which  are 

*  Dr  Price’s  Sermons,  p.  283. 


58 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


necessary  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  subject :  it  is  at 
least  certain  that  we  do  not  possess  this  knowledge,  and 
probable  that  we  shall  never  attain  to  it  in  the  present 
state.  Much  however  is  known;  sufficient  to  remove  all 
reasonable  doubt  and  apprehension,  and  to  afford  peace  to 
the  mind. 

That  this  difficulty  was  perceived  by  the  ancient  phi¬ 
losophers,  and  by  the  primitive  believers  and  defenders 
of  the  Christian  religion,  is  certain,  for  it  is  stated  by  them 
in  its  full  force.  The  supposed  Maker  of  the  world,  it 
was  long  ago  said,  was  either  willing  to  abolish  all  evils, 
but  not  able,  or  was  able  and  not  willing;  or  he  was 
neither  willing  nor  able ;  or,  lastly,  he  was  both  able  and 
willing.  This  latter  is  the  only  thing  that  answers  fully  to 
the  notion  of  a  God.  Now,  that  the  supposed  Creator  of 
all  things  was  not  thus  both  able  and  willing  to  abolish  all 
evils,  is  plain,  because  then  there  would  have  been  no  evils 
at  all  left.  Wherefore,  since  there  is  such  a  deluge  of  evils 
overflowing  all,  it  must  needs  be  that  either  he  was  willing 
and  not  able  to  remove  them,  and  then  he  was  impotent; 
or  else  he  was  able  and  not  willing,  and  then  he  was  en¬ 
vious  ;  or,  lastly,  he  was  neither  able  nor  willing,  and  then 
he  was  both  impotent  and  envious.* 

If,  it  was  argued,  there  be  but  one  author  of  all  things, 
the  origin  of  all  evil  must  be  referred  to  him.  But  how 
can  Infinite  Goodness  become  the  origin  of  evil  ?  If  God 
could  not  hinder  it,  he  is  not  powerful ;  if  he  could  and 
would  not,  he  is  not  good :  if  it  be  said  that  evil  neces¬ 
sarily  adheres  to  some  particular  natures,  since  these  too 
must  owe  their  being  to  God,  it  would  surely  have  been 
better  not  to  have  given  them  existence,  than  to  have  de¬ 
based  his  workmanship  with  these  concomitant  evils. 

A  full  and  complete  answer  to  these  objections  it  is  not 
in  the  power  of  the  human  faculties,  with  their  present 
knowledge,  perhaps  with  their  present  means  of  know¬ 
ledge,  to  give ;  but  an  answer  sufficient  to  produce  in  the 
considerate  and  candid  mind  an  undoubting  conviction  of 
the  perfect  benevolence  of  the  Creator  can  be  rendered. 

*  This  is  the  famous  objection  of  Epicurus,  quoted  and  answered  by  Lac- 
tantius — De  Ira  Dei,  sect.  xii.  p.  43o.  See  also  Cudworth’s  True  Intellectual 
System,  pp.  78,  79  ;  and  Dean  Clarke’s  Inquiry  into  the  Cause  and  Origin  of 
Evil. 


IMPERFECTION  A  PROPERTY  OF  CREATED  BEING.  59 


All  tlie  kinds  of  evil  of  wliicli  we  can  conceive  may  be 
comprehended  under  three,  namely,  the  evil  of  imperfec¬ 
tion,  natural,  and  moral  evil. 

The  evil  of  imperfection  is  the  absence  of  perfection  ; 
natural  evil  is  pain  produced  by  natural  causes ;  moral  evil 
is  pain  produced  by  wrong  volitions. 

In  regard  to  the  evil  of  imperfection,  it  is  impossible 
that  it  should  have  been  avoided ;  it  is  the  necessary  pro¬ 
perty  of  created  being.  Omnipotence  itself  could  not 
have  removed  it,  because  Omnipotence  could  not  effect 
that  which  in  the  nature  of  things  is  impossible  to  be 
effected ;  could  not  produce  a  contradiction.  But  a  creature 
possessed  of  absolute  perfection  is  a  contradiction  :  for 
self- existence  is  essential  to  absolute  perfection,  but  a  self- 
existent  creature  is  a  plain  contradiction;  since  it  supposes 
a  creature  to  exist  of  itself  and  not  of  itself  at  the  same 
time.  It  is  implied  in  the  very  notion  of  a  creature,  that  it 
is  dependent — dependent  for  its  existence  and  all  its  pro¬ 
perties  on  the  being  who  created  it.  However  exalted  may 
be  the  qualities  imparted  to  it,  it  must  always  be  inferior 
to  its  creator  :  an  effect  must  be  inferior  to  its  cause.  Ab¬ 
solute  perfection,  therefore,  is  peculiar  to  that  Being  who 
is  self-existent  and  independent.  Whatever  powers  and 
excellencies  it  may  please  him  to  communicate,  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  that  he  should  communicate,  in  their  original  perfec¬ 
tion,  his  own  attributes.  These  are  incommunicable.  We 
cannot,  indeed,  but  conceive  of  such  a  Being  as  almighty, 
that  is,  as  able  to  do  all  that  is  possible  to  be  done  :  but 
to  communicate  his  own  attributes  in  their  original  perfec¬ 
tion,  is  a  thing  impossible  to  be  done,  since  to  render  a 
creature  self- existent,  or  absolutely  independent,  implies  a 
direct  contradiction. 

The  evil  of  imperfection  must,  therefore,  of  necessity 
exist,  supposing  there  is  a  creation :  it  follows,  that  it  is 
not  incompatible  with  Almighty  Power  and  Infinite  Good¬ 
ness  to  produce  imperfect  creatures  :  or,  rather,  that  it  is 
not  compatible  with  these  attributes,  that  it  is  not  pos¬ 
sible  in  the  nature  of  things,  to  produce  perfect  creatures. 
God  might  indeed  have  refrained  from  creating,  and  had 
it  been  wiser  and  better  to  produce  no  creatures  than  im¬ 
perfect  creatures,  he  would  have  remained  eternally  alone, 
without  witnesses  and  without  participators  of  his  happi- 


60 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


ness.  But  if  there  be  a  creation,  there  must  be  imperfec¬ 
tion  :  and  all  the  other  evils  necessarily  resulting  from  this 
great  and  original  evil  are  absolutely  unavoidable. 

Nor  in  strictness  does  this  evil  of  imperfection  arise 
from  the  Creator,  but  from  the  original  non-entity  of  the 
creature.  Every  created  thing  was  a  negation  or  non¬ 
entity  before  it  had  a  primitive  being,  and  when  it  had  a 
primitive  being  communicated  to  it,  it  had  just  so  much  of 
its  primitive  negation  taken  away  from  it.  So  far  as  it  is, 
its  being  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  Sovereign  Cause  that 
produced  it  ;  so  far  as  it  is  not,  its  not  being  is  to  be  at¬ 
tributed  to  the  original  non-entity  out  of  which  it  was 
produced.  That  which  was  once  nothing  would  still  have 
been  nothing,  had  it  not  been  for  the  cause  that  gave  ex¬ 
istence  to  it,  and  therefore  it  is  so  far  nothing  still,  that  is, 
limited  and  defective,  is  only  to  be  attributed  to  its  own 
primitive  nothingness.* 

Of  the  second  class  of  evil,  namely,  that  which  is  termed 
natural,  and  which  consists  of  pain  produced  by  natural 
causes,  it  cannot  in  strictness  be  said  that  it  is  necessarv 
and  inevitable.  The  tendency  of  bodies  to  corruption  and 
putrefaction,  indeed,  on  which  single  law  the  most  stu¬ 
pendous,  and  sometimes  apparently  the  most  disastrous, 
consequences  depend,  could  not  in  the  nature  of  things 
have  been  avoided.  All  objects  in  nature  are  composed  of 
matter :  matter  without  motion  is  useless  :  to  be  of  any 
conceivable  service  it  must  possess  such  motion  as  will 
separate  it  into  solid  and  fluid  parts,  and  retain  those  parts 
in  a  solid  and  fluid  state.  This  cannot  take  place  unless  it 
be  endowed  with  the  properties  of  attraction  and  repulsion. 
We  can  form  no  conception  of  a  solid  body  without  sup¬ 
posing  the  particles  of  which  it  is  composed  to  possess 
such  an  attraction  for  each  other  as  to  cause  them  to  co¬ 
here  :  nor  of  an  aeriform  fluid  without  supposing  its  parti¬ 
cles  to  be  mutually  repulsive.  But  the  motions  produced 
by  attraction  and  repulsion  must  of  necessity  be  contrary 
to  each  other.  Contrariety  of  motion  cannot  be  separated 
from  the  operation  of  these  great  principles  even  in  idea. 
Contrariety  of  motion  produces  separation  of  parts,  over¬ 
comes  the  power  of  cohesion,  disunites  the  principles  of 


*  Scott’s  Christian  Life,  Part  ii.  vol.  i.  ch.  vi.  sect.  ii.  pp.  446,  447,  1st  ed. 


PAIN  NOT  INSEPARABLE  FROM  MATERIAL  BEING. 


61 


which  a  compound  body  is  composed,  and  resolves  it  into 
its  simple  elements.  This  is  dissolution  or  corruption. 
The  simple  elements  thus  disengaged  in  obedience  to 
the  laws  of  attraction,  operating  differently  under  differ¬ 
ent  circumstances,  enter  into  new  combinations,  and 
form  new  substances.  This  is  reproduction.  While  all 
that  is  great  and  fair  and  good  in  the  natural  world  de- 
pends  upon  these  processes,  all  that  is  evil  also  derives  its 
origin  from  the  same  source.  Thus  the  tendency  to  the 
production  of  evil  is  inseparably  connected  with  the  ne- 
cessarv  motion  of  matter ;  but  it  does  not  therefore  follow 

t  ' 

that  evil  must  exist.  There  is  a  wide  difference  between 
the  tendency  to  the  production  of  evil  and  the  actual  pro¬ 
duction  of  it.  It  might  be  strictly  impossible  even  for 
Infinite  Power  and  Wisdom  to  prevent  the  liability  to  evil, 
while  an  effectual  and  sure  provision  might  be  made 
against  the  actual  existence  of  it.  A  tendency  to  evil,  not 
in  the  nature  of  things  to  be  avoided,  might  be  counter- 
acted  with  absolute  certainty  and  for  ever,  either  by  a 
modification  of  the  laws  of  motion,  or  by  rendering  some 
motions  corrective  of  others.  Because  all  natural  evil  is 
the  consequence,  either  of  some  property  imparted  to 
matter,  or  of  some  law  to  which  matter  endowed  with  cer¬ 
tain  properties  is  subjected.  Any  evil  produced  by  any 
property  or  law  might  have  been  prevented  by  changing 
the  property  or  modifying  the  law ;  or  by  making  some 
other  property  or  law  counteract  the  operation  of  the  one 
in  question. 

The  disunion  of  bodies  and  the  formation  of  new  com¬ 
pounds,  that  is,  their  continual  transition  through  the  pro¬ 
cesses  of  dissolution  and  recomposition,  do  not  compre¬ 
hend  the  whole  class  of  natural  evils.  Pain  of  body, 
uneasiness  of  mind,  ungratified  appetite,  and  death,  must 
be  included  in  this  number.  These  can  by  no  means  be 
considered  as  evils  which  are  absolutely  inseparable  from 
material  beings  ;  because  man  in  a  state  of  innocence  was 
without  them ;  and  they  will  not  annoy  the  happiness  of 
•  the  celestial  world.  The  relative  circumstances  of  beings 
might  have  been  so  ordered  as  perfectly  to  exclude  them. 
Their  existence,  therefore,  cannot,  like  the  evil  of  defect, 
be  referred  to  the  unalterable  nature  of  things.  In  what¬ 
ever  degree  they  exist,  they  exist  by  the  will  and  appoint- 


62 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT . 


ment  of  tlie  Creator.  Even  with  our  imperfect  knowledge 
we  can  clearly  perceive  liow  lie  might  prevent  them.  Why 
then  does  he  not  prevent  them  ? 

It  is  self-evident  that  the  answer  to  this  question  must 
be  totally  different  from  the  answer  to  the  question,  Why 
has  he  not  made  all  things  absolutely  perfect  ?  Absolute 
perfection  it  is  out  of  the  power  of  Omnipotence  itself  to 
communicate,  because  absolute  perfection  in  a  creature  is 
a  contradiction  in  terms.  But  pain  of  body,  uneasiness  of 
mind,  disappointment  of  appetite,  death,  the  separation 
and  corruption  of  the  parts  of  any,  and  of  all  sensitive 
creatures,  it  is  in  his  power  to  prevent  at  all  times  and  in 
a  perfect  measure. 

Why  then  has  he  not  prevented  them  ?  Because  they 
are  necessary  to  his  plan  ;  they  are  the  instruments  he  has 
chosen  to  accomplish  the  wise  and  beneficent  purposes  of 
his  creation ;  they  are  as  much  a  part  of  benevolence,  and 
as  real  an  evidence  of  it,  as  the  most  exquisite  pleasures 
he  has  communicated,  because  thev  are  agents  bv  the 
operation  of  which  he  perceived  that  he  could  produce  the 
largest  amount  of  happiness.  It  is  of  the  utmost  import¬ 
ance  that  the  mind  should  have  a  clear  perception '  of  this 
truth,  and  an  undoubting  conviction  of  it. 

When  the  Deitv  determined  on  the  work  of  creation,  we 
may  suppose  that  all  possible  systems  were  present  to  his 
mind.  All  which  infinite  power  and  wisdom  could 
effect  in  the  production  of  happiness  must  have  been 


known  to  Aim,  because  his  knowledge  is  absolute  and 
perfect.  This  amount  of  happiness  he  must  have  deter¬ 
mined  to  produce,  because,  since  he  could  have  engaged 
in  this  work  only  to  communicate  happiness,  it  is  incon¬ 
ceivable  that  he  should  have  chosen  the  lesser  in  preference 
to  the  greater  good.  It  has  been  shown  that  he  could  not 
communicate  absolute  perfection  to  any  creature.  That 
degree  of  perfection  which  his  infinite  wisdom  perceived 
to  be  the  highest  that  it  would,  upon  the  whole,  be  best  to 
impart,  he  communicated,*  and  to  as  great  a  number  of 


*  It  seems  to  be  a  more  proper  mode  of  speaking  to  say.  that  the  Creator 
•was  determined  bv  his  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  in  the  choice  of  the  svsteri 
he  has  adopted,  than  to  resolve  it  into  his  mere  pleasure,  although  it  we  can  con¬ 
ceive  two  systems  possible,  each  equally  good,  each  equally  present  to  the 
Divine  contemplation,  and  than  which  there  could  he  no  better,  we  must  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  Deity  possesses  what  is  termed  the  liberty  of  indifference,  that  is, 


GRADATION  INCREASES  THE  801  OF  HAPPINESS. 


63 


intelligences  as  possible  :  possible,  that  is,  in  consistency 
with  the  greatest  sum  of  happiness.  These  creatures  oc¬ 
cupying  the  first  rank  in  the  creation,  he  endowed  with 
certain  natures  and  attributes :  but  the  universe  being  as 
full  of  these  as  possible,  there  might  still  be  room  for 
others  of  different  natures  and  different  attributes.  These 
latter  mi  ght  not  at  all  interfere  with  the  former.  Inferior 
they  must  be,  but  though  inferior  they  might  still  possess 
a  high  degree  of  excellence,  and  enjoy  an  incalculable 
amount  of  happiness.  Their  imperfection  could  not  pos¬ 
sibly  detract  from  the  enjoyment  of  the  higher  order,  but 
only  in  a  certain  measure  from  their  own  :  and  after  the 

V  t 

necessary  allowance  is  made  for  this,  there  might  be  left  a 
vast  balamce  of  excellence  and  happiness.  how  that 
balance,  to  whatever  it  amount,  is  obviously  just  so  much 
excellence  and  happiness  produced  in  the  creation,  which 

the  power  of  choosing  out  of  equal  objects ;  otherwise  in  such  a  case  he  must 
either  not  have  acted  at  all,  or  have  chosen  a  system  of  inferior  excellence. 
Some  philosophers,  indeed,  deny  the  possibility  of  the  existence  of  two  things 
perfectly  equal,  and  consequently  affirm  that  God  could  not  have  made  a  dif¬ 
ferent  universe  in  all  respects  as  excellent  as  that  which  actually  exists.  If 
they  are  in  the  right,  there  is  no  need  of  supposing  even  in  the  Deity  such  a 
power  as  that  of  choosing  out  of  equal  objects  ;  for,  wherever  there  is  a  real 
dilference  in  objects,  God  must  choose  that  which  is  best ;  that  is,  he  must  be 
limited  by  his  wisdom  and  goodness  to  such  a  choice.  But  there  seems  no 
ground  for  affirming  that  the  power  of  choosing  out  of  equal  objects  is  in  itself 
impossible,  and  if  other  systems  as  worthy  of  the  Divine  attributes  as  the  pre¬ 
sent  were  possible,  God  must  have  possessed  and  have  exercised  this  power. 
The  language  of  Dr  Hartley  on  this  subject  is  in  his  own  excellent  spirit :  “If 
it  be  said  that  God  might  have  made  a  different  universe,  equally  perfect  with 
that  which  now  exists,  and  that  his  freedom  consists  in  this,  the  answer  seems 
to  be  that  we  are  entirely  lost  here  in  the  infinities  of  infinities,  Ac.,  ad  infini¬ 
tum.  which  always  have  existed  and  always  will  exist  with  respect  to  hind, 
degree,  and  every  possible  mode  of  existence.  One  cannot  in  the  least  presume 
either  to  deny  or  affirm  this  kind  of  freedom  of  God ;  since  the  absolute  perfec¬ 
tion  of  God  seems  to  imply  both  entire  uniformity  and  infinite  variety  in  bis 
works.  TTe  can  here  onlv  submit  and  refer  all  to  God’s  infinite  knowledge  and 
perfection.” — Note  C,  in  king’s  Origin  of  Evil,  p.  83,  ed.  5,  and  note  (52),  pp. 
253,  254;  Belsham’s  Elements  of  the  Philosophy  of  blind,  chap.  ix.  sect.  iv. 
p.  252 ;  Hartley  on  Man.  vol.  ii.  p.  36.  If  the  power  of  choosing  where 
motives  are  perfectly  equal,  be  a  perfection  of  the  Supreme  Being,  there  seems 
nothing  impossible  in  the  supposition  that  it  might  be  communicated  to  his 
intelligent  creatures.  But  then  there  is  no  evidence  whatever  for  supposing 
that  it  actually  is  communicated,  at  least  to  man.  Indeed  the  increasing  diffi¬ 
culty  of  determining  the  choice  in  proportion  to  the  apparent  approximation  of 
motives  to  equality,  renders  it  highly  probable  that  this  power  is  not  an  attri¬ 
bute  of  the  human  mind.  Nor  can  it  ever  be  proved  that  a  choice  has  in  any  in¬ 
stance  been  actually  made,  where  the  motives  have  been  exactly  balanced. 
— Belsham’s  Elements  of  the  Philosophy  of  the  Mind,  p.  299. 


64 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


could  not  have  been  produced,  bad  the  higher  order  only 
existed  :  that  is,  had  not  the  degree  of  imperfection  neces¬ 
sarily  attached  to  the  inferior  order  been  permitted.  When 
again  we  suppose  the  universe  to  be  as  full  as  possible  of 
creatures  in  the  second  rank,  we  can  imagine  a  third  order 
still  inferior  to  the  second,  and  so  constituted  as  not  at  all 
to  interfere  with  it :  then  we  can  conceive  of  a  fourth  sub¬ 
ordinate  to  the  third,  and  a  lower  still,  and  yet  a  lower. 
According  to  this  supposition,  there  is  a  scale  of  being  at 
the  top  of  which  is  the  Great  First  Cause  of  all  :  between 
Him  and  the  highest  created  intelligence  there  is  an  infi¬ 
nite  distance,  but  from  the  highest  order  of  creatures,  a 
gradation  to  the  bottom  of  the  scale,  which  is  nothing,  or 
non-existence;  every  intermediate  degree  being  full  :  full 
of  creatures,  happy  according’  to  their  several  powers  and 
capacities  ;  all  subserving  the  most  important  ends  to  them¬ 
selves  and  the  system,  and  the  higher  orders  never  inter¬ 
fering  with  the  lower,  nor  the  lower  with  the  higher.  In 
relation  to  subjects  so  much  above  our  present  knowledge 
and  capacity,  it  becomes  us  to  think  and  speak  with  the 
greatest  diffidence  and  humility :  but  there  is  something 
so  reasonable  and  beautiful  in  this  conception,  and  it  leads 
us  to  form  such  exalted  apprehensions  of  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  the  Creator,  that  we  can  scarcely  be  wrong  in 
cherishing  it. 

If  this  representation  be  just,  there  can  be  no  question 
that  creation  is  a  most  benevolent  and  glorious  work  :  that 
it  is  consistent  with  Perfect  Goodness  to  give  being  to  im¬ 
perfect  creatures,  that  it  is  equally  consistent  with  it  to 
place  creatures  in  different  ranks,  and  to  communicate  to 
some  higher  degrees  of  perfection  than  to  others,  since  by 
this  means  the  sum  of  happiness  is  immeasurably  increased. 
Hence,  too,  we  perceive  the  true  answer  to  all  such  ques¬ 
tions  as  these, — Why  are  not  creatures  made  higher  and 
better  ?  Why  are  there  not  more  ?  Why  is  not  such  an 
order  of  beings  endowed  with  such  and  such  faculties  and 
perfections  ?  .  Why  is  it  subject  to  such  evils  ?  The  uni¬ 
verse  is  as  full  of  creatures  as  it  can  be;  creatures  are  en¬ 
dowed  wfith  as  high  degrees  of  perfection  as  is  possible : 
as  many  of  the  highest  exist  as  can  exist.  Creatures  of  a 
certain  order  are  not  endowed  with  such  and  such  faculties 
and  perfections,  because  if  they  were,  they  would  no 


NO  BEINGS  FIXED  IN  THE  IE  HIGHEST  PERFECTION.  65 

longer  be  creatures  of  tliat  order :  and  all  other  orders  are 
full.  To  whatever  imperfections  and  evils  they  are  sub¬ 
ject,  they  have  reason  to  adore  the  boundless  goodness  of 
their  Author,  for  it  is  because  his  goodness  is  boundless 
that  he  chose  rather  to  give  them  existence  with  these 
evils,  together  with  a  vast  preponderance  of  happiness, 
than  no  existence  at  all. 

Inseparably  connected  with  this  view  of  the  creation  is 
the  opinion  that  creatures  are  continually  advancing  from 
one  degree  of  knowledge,  perfection,  and  happiness  to  an¬ 
other,  without  ever  coming  to  a  period.  It  is  possible 
that  there  are  beings  placed  in  an  unalterable  condition, 
formed  at  first  with  all  the  perfection  of  which  their  na¬ 
tures  are  capable.  Such  an  order  of  beings  may  be  second 
only  to  the  Deity  in  excellence  and  glory,  and  occupy  the 
top  of  the  scale  of  the  creation.  We  can  imagine  such  an 
order,  and  if  its  existence  be  really  wise  and  good,  without 
doubt  it  does  exist ;  but  we  know  so  little  even  of  our¬ 
selves  and  of  our  own  world,  and  are  so  entirely  ignorant 
of  all  others,  that  while  pursuing  such  speculations  we 
cannot  be  too  cautions  and  diffident.  But  as  far  as  we  are 
capable  of  judging,  it  seems  probable  that  there  is  no  such 
order;  that  no  being  is  fixed  in  an  unalterable  condition 
in  the  highest  possible  degree  of  perfection ;  for  we  can¬ 
not  well  conceive  of  such  degree ;  since  that  which  admits 
of  continual  addition  can  have  no  highest.  According  to 
our  best  conceptions,  it  seems  more  reasonable  to  believe 
that  the  highest  order  of  beings,  at  whatever  point  they 
commenced  their  career,  are  constantlv  advancing  and  will 
continue  to  advance  for  ever.  And  though  their  progress 
be  inconceivablv  rapid,  and  continue  through  all  the  ages 
of  eternity,  they  can  never  come  to  a  period,  because  there 

must  alwavs  be  an  infinite  distance  between  them  and  the 

*/ _ 

Creator.  These  conceptions  open  to  our  view  a  prospect 
of  stupendous  magnificence  and  glory.  There  is  nothing 
in  religion  more  beautiful  and  triumphant.  Conceive  of 
various  orders  of  creatures,  thus  going  on  from  strength 
to  strength,  thus  for  ever  gaining  new  accessions  and 
brightening  to  all  eternity ;  through  everlasting  ages  add¬ 
ing  knowledge  to  knowledge,  and  excellence  to  excellence 
— what  can  be  more  glorious  ?  Surely  “  it  must  be  a 
prospect  pleasing  to  God  himself  to  see  his  creation  thus 


66 


THE  DIVINE  GOVEENMENT. 


for  ever  beautifying  in  bis  eyes  and  drawing  nearer  to  bim 
by  degrees  of  resemblance.”* 

But  we  need  not  stop  even  liere  in  tbe  justification  of 
tbe  wisdom  and  goodness  of  tbe  Deity ,  in  creating  beings 
of  different  orders  and  endowing  tbem  witli  different  de¬ 
grees  of  perfection;  for  it  can  be  proved  that  tbe  very 
evils  wbicli  prevail  among  tbe  inferior  orders  are  rendered 
subservient  to  tbeir  own  well-being,  and  to  tbat  of  tbe 
system.  If  this  can  be  shown,  if  tbe  benevolent  operation 
of  evil  can  be  established,  and  if  this  be  connected,  as  it 
ought  to  be  connected,  with  tbe  truth  that  all  reasonable 
beings,  however  inferior  the  condition  in  which  they  com¬ 
mence  their  existence,  are  destined  to  rise  higher  and 
higher  in  endless  progression,  and  to  contribute  to  their 
own  advancement,  the  proof  of  the  infinite  benignity  of 
the  Creator  must  be  admitted  to  be  complete. 

That  evil  under  the  superintendence  of  infinite  wisdom 
and  benignity  is  the  means  of  producing  ultimate  good, 
has  already  been  proved. f  In  addition  to  the  evidence 
which  has  been  adduced  of  this  most  important  truth,  the 
following  considerations  deserve  great  attention. 

All  natural  evils  are  reducible  to  one,  namely,  pain. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  and  motion  of  matter,  no¬ 
thing  in  any  actual  or  possible  result  of  these  which  is 
considered  evil,  that  is  not  so  denominated,  only  because 
its  ultimate  effect  is  to  produce  in  the  sensitive  creation 
uneasy  sensations,  that  is,  pain.  But  there  is  no  pain 
which  has  not  for  its  object  the  production  of  good.  There 
is  no  motion  of  matter  which  produces  pain  to  an  animal, 
unless  that  motion  tend  to  the  animahs  destruction,  and 
the  pain  occasioned  by  the  injuring  cause  serves  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  injury.  In  proportion,  therefore,  as  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  the  being  is  a  good,  this  pain  is  a  good. 

Pain  is  nothing  but  a  sense  that  some  part  of  the  animal 
frame  is  perishing  or  is  in  danger  of  perishing.  Those 
motions  which  are  conducive  to  the  health,  vigour,  and 
preservation  of  an  animal  are  pleasurable  :  there  is  no  ex¬ 
ception  to  this  in  the  whole  animal  economy:  those  motions 
which  tend  to  its  destruction  are  painful.  Now  since  the 
animal  is  thus  warned  against  what  is  injurious  and  in- 

*  Spectator,  No.  III.  f  Part  I.  sect.  iii.  p.  45,  et  seq. 


PA IX  HAS  A  PURPOSE  NOTHING  ELSE  COULD  SERVE.  67 


structed  what  to  avoid,  the  benevolence  displayed  in  this 
constitution  is  so  much  the  more  perfect  inasmuch  as  it  is 
the  effect  of  consummate  wisdom.  If  we  were  not  thus 
warned  of  danger,  if  the  motions  of  external  bodies  and 
the  deranged  action  of  our  own  organs  did  not  thus  ap¬ 
prize  us  of  their  presence  and  lead  us  to  take  precautions 
against  their  injurious  operation,  we  could  scarcely  move  a 
single  step  or  suffer  the  least  illness  without  perishing; 
and  our  destruction,  whenever  it  came,  must  always  be 
sudden  and  without  the  slightest  notice. 

Nor  could  anything  excepting  pain  answer  the  purpose. 
A  mere  knowledge  of  the  presence  or  approach  of  danger 
would  not  be  sufficient.  Knowledge  is  easily  disregarded ; 
but  pain  is  a  visitant  which  will  not  be  slighted  :  it  will 
make  itself  attended  to.  Men  often  do  know  that  danger 
is  nigh,  but  this  knowledge  is  so  far  from  inducing  them 
to  avoid  it,  that  it  seems  only  to  make  them  court  it.  And 
this  occurs  so  frequently,  and  respecting  dangers  so  likely 
to  be  fatal,  as  to  afford  abundant  proof,  that  were  our  pre¬ 
servation  left  to  mere  knowledge,  there  is  no  business  or 
pleasure  which  might  not  deprive  us  of  existence.  And  it 
ought  never  to  be  forgotten,  that  whenever  the  pain  of 
life  upon  the  whole  exceeds1  its  pleasure,  pain  and  life 
generally  cease  together  :  that  is,  when  existence  can  no 
longer  afford  pleasure,  it  is  brought  to  a  close.  This  is 
exactly  wliat  might  have  been  expected  of  perfect  benevo¬ 
lence.  The  Creator  produced  all  things  out  of  nothing, 
and  of  his  own  pleasure  gave  existence  to  all  that  live.  In 
justice,  therefore,  he  seems  obliged  to  render  the  existence 
of  every  creature  a  good,  the  whole  of  its  being  considered. 
It  is  not  consistent  with  benevolence  to  suffer  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  any  creature  to  be  upon  the  whole  worse  than  non¬ 
existence.  The  balance  of  happiness  is  and  must  be  in 
favour  of  every  sentient  being.  Within  this  limit  the 
Creator  may  render  the  condition  of  any  creature  whatever 
he  pleases,  that  is,  whatever  the  greatest  happiness  of  the 
system  may  require.  At  first  sight,  indeed,  it  seems  as  if 
the  communication  of  a  certain  degree  of  happiness  with¬ 
out  any  admixture  of  pain,  were  more  consistent  with  per¬ 
fect  benevolence  than  a  mere  balance  of  happiness.  But 
this  is  altogether  unreasonable.  If  a  creature  possess  four 
degrees  of  happiness  and  one  of  pain,  it  is  not  only  a 


68 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


gainer  by  existence,  but  it  gains  more  than  it  would  do 
were  it  to  enjoy  only  one  degree  of  pure  pleasure. 

Upon  the  whole,  then,  it  is  evident  that  all  natural  evils 
are  not  only  consistent  with  infinite  wisdom  and  perfect 
benevolence,  but  are  as  much  proofs  of  these  attributes  as 
the  purest  pleasure  of  the  most  exalted  intelligence. 

And  the  same  without  doubt  is  true  of  moral  evil.  By 
moral  evil  is  meant  that  pain  which  is  occasioned  by  wrong 
volitions.  There  are  pains  which  result  from  the  constitu¬ 
tion  of  the  material  world  and  the  operation  of  the  laws  of 
nature,  that  is,  from  natural  causes ;  these  are  natural 
evils.  Moral  evils  are  the  very  same  with  volition  super- 
added.  Moral  evil,  then,  is  dependent  upon  natural.  A 
thing  is  morally  evil  which  produces  or  tends  to  produce 
natural  evil,  and  it  is  morally  evil  only  because,  and  in  so 
far  as,  it  produces  or  tends  to  produce  natural  evil. 

All  evil  is  pain.  But  some  pains  arise  from  natural 
causes  without  our  consent,  often  without  our  know¬ 
ledge  .  and  these,  as  we  have  said,  are  natural  evils : 
others  are  the  consequence  of  a  wrong  volition,  and  these 
are  termed  moral  evils.  The  difference  between  natural 
and  moral  evil,  therefore,  is  not  in  their  natures,  but  in 
their  causes  :  their  natures  are  the  very  same,  namely, 
pain,  inconvenience,  injury  to  ourselves  or  others  :  in  this 
precisely,  and  in  this  alone,  consists  the  evil  of  both  :  but 
the  ill  effects  of  the  one  proceed  from  volition,  those  of  the 
other  from  natural  causes,  and  hence  moral  evil  is  justly 
and  precisely  said  to  be  natural  evil  with  volition  super- 
added. 

Since,  then,  moral  evil  is  thus  dependent  on  natural 
evil,  since  there  is  nothing  wrong  in  any  volition  which 
does  not  lead  to  natural  evil,  it  is  obvious  that  natural 
evil  is  worse  than  moral  evil :  for  that  which  makes  a 
thing  bad  must  of  necessity  possess  a  more  evil  nature 
than  that  which  it  renders  bad.  How  unreasonable,  then, 
is  that  reluctance  which  is  felt  to  refer  moral  evil  to  the 
Deity  !  All  writers  boldly  trace  natural  evil  to  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  the  great  First  Cause  of  all  things  ;  but  they 
hesitate  to  ascribe  to  him  the  appointment  of  moral  evil. 
They  feel  no  reluctance  to  trace  to  him  the  greater,  but  they 
shrink  with  a  kind  of  horror  from  ascribing  to  him  the 
lesser  evil.  Without  doubt  he  causes  both :  but  he  does 


THE  EXISTENCE  OF  EVIL  TEACEABLE  TO  GOD. 


69 


not  cause  moral  evil  any  more  than  natural  evil  as  evil  : 
lie  does  not  rest  in  it  as  an  ultimate  object  :  lie  produces 
it  for  tlie  sake  of  the  greater  good  of  which  it  is  the  in¬ 
strument.  And  in  causing  it  with  this  end  he  does  not 
really  produce  evil,  but  the  greater  ultimate  good.* 

That  the  existence  of  moral  evil  must  be  referred  to  the 
will  of  the  Deity,  is  acknowledged  by  the  author  quoted 
below.  “  I  believe,”  he  says,  there  is  no  person  of  good 
understanding  who  will  venture  to  say  he  is  certain  that  it 
is  impossible  it  should  be  best,  taking  in  the  whole  com¬ 
pass  and  extent  of  existence  and  all  consequences  in  the 
endless  series  of  events,  that  there  should  be  such  a  thing 
as  moral  evil  in  the  world.  And  if  so,  it  will  certainly 
follow  that  an  infinitely  wise  Being,  who  always  chooses 
what  is  best,  must  choose  that  there  be  such  a  thing. f 

Whether  the  will  be  invariably  determined  by  motive, 
and  cannot  possibly  choose  otherwise  than  it  does,  all  the 
previous  circumstances  remaining  the  same ;  or  whether 
it  be  a  self-moving  power,  capable  “  of  choosing'  or  not 
choosing  in  any  given  case,  naturally  independent  of  any 
mediate  or  immediate,  external  or  internal,  force,  compul¬ 
sion,  influence,  or  necessity,  and  physically  determined 
neither  by  bodily  sensations,  appetites,  &c.,  nor  mental 
perceptions,  reason,  nor  judgment J  in  a  word,  a  proper 
self- determining  power,  capable  “  of  choosing  with  a 
motive,  contrary  to  a  motive,  or  without  any  motive  at 
all :”  §  in  either  case  the  existence  of  moral  evil  must 
alike  be  traced  to  God.  According  to  the  former  hypo¬ 
thesis,  from  that  constitution  of  things  of  which  the  great 
First  Cause  is  the  author,  arise  certain  appearances,  those 
appearances  cause  certain  perceptions,  these  perceptions 
form  a  judgment,  this  judgment  determines  the  will,  and 
this  will  produces  action.  That  action,  therefore,  the 
fixed,  certain,  and  intended  result  of  all  the  preceding 
causes,  must  be  referred  to  the  appointment  of  the  First 
Cause.  According  to  the  latter  hypothesis,  free-will,  a 

*  “God  does  not  will  sin  as  sin,  or  for  the  sake  of  anything  evil,  though  it 
be  his  pleasure  so  to  order  things  that,  he  permitting,  sin  will  come  to  pass,  for 
the  sake  of  the  great  good  that  by  his  disposal  shall  be  the  consequence .” — Edwards 
on  the  Will,  part  iv.  sect.  ix.  p.  371,  ed.  3rd. 

f  Ibid.  pp.  369,  370. 

X  Note  58,  by  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  in  King’s  Origin  of  Evil,  p.  290,  ed.  5th. 

§  Dr  James  Gregory’s  Philosophical  Essays,  sect.  i.  p.  3. 


70 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


self-moving,  self-determining  power,  was  bestowed  upon 
man  by  the  Creator.  The  nature  of  this  faculty,  and  all 
the  effects  of  which  it  would  be  the  agent,  he  perfectly 
knew.  He  made  the  faculty  what  it  is,  and  communicated 
it  to  man  such  as  it  is,  with  a  perfect  foreknowledge  that 
man  would  certainly  so  use  it  as  to  produce  moral  evil. 
This  is  distinctly  admitted  by  the  best  writers  on  this 
subject.  Moral  evil,  they  grant,  is  the  effect  of  wrong 
volition  ;  but  the  only  true  and  proper  cause  Qf  volition 
and  action  they  contend  is  free-will,  this  self-moving 
power,  and  the  only  cause  of  this  “  is  the  Creator  who 
communicated  it.'”*  If,  therefore,  there  be  any  truth  in 
the  maxim,  that  the  cause  of  the  cause  is  the  cause  of  the 
thing  caused,  j*  it  follows  inevitably  that  God  is  the  author 
of  moral  evil,  inasmuch  as  he  is  the  sole  cause  of  that 
which  he  certainly  knew  would  be  the  cause  of  it.  Hence, 
according*  to  the  doctrine  of  free-will,  as  much  as  according* 
to  the  doctrine  of  necessity,  the  Deity  is  the  cause  of  moral 
evil  in  as  real  and  strict  a  sense  as  he  is  of  natural  evil. 
In  truth,  he  is  alike  the  cause  of  both,  and  he  has  appointed 
both  for  the  same  wise  and  benevolent  reason,  namely, 
because  he  saw  that  they  would  produce  the  greatest  sum 
of  good.  J 

*  King’s  Origin  of  Evil. 

t  Quod  est  causa  causse,  est  etiam  causa  causati. 

I  That  this  is  the  actual  effect  of  moral  evil,  and  that  it  was  appointed  by 
God  for  this  purpose,  is  not  only  admitted,  but  contended  for  by  Edwards.  He 
maintains  that  God  may  hate  a  thing  considered  simply  as  evil,  and  yet  may 
will  that  it  should  come  to  pass,  considering  all  consequences  ;  that,  taking  in 
the  whole  extent  and  compass  of  existence,  and  ali  causes  in  the  series  of  events, 
it  is  best  that  moral  evil  should  exist ;  that,  therefore,  God,  who  is  infinitely 
wise  and  always  chooses  what  is  best,  must  choose  it ;  yet,  that  he  does  not 
choose  it  for  the  sake  of  evil,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  great  good  that  by  his 
disposal  shall  be  the  consequence.” — Edwards  on  the  Will,  p.  371.  Again  he 
says,  “’Tis  not  of  a  bad  tendency  for  the  Supreme  Being  thus  to  order  and 
permit  that  moral  evil  to  be  which  it  is  best  should  come  to  pass ;  for  that  it  is 
of  good  tendency  is  the  very  thing  supposed  in  the  point  now  in  question.”— 
Ibid.  p.  37o.  And  again,  “Nor  is  there  any  need  of  supposing  it  (moral  evil) 
proceeds  from  any  evil  disposition  or  aim  ;  for  by  the  supposition,  what  is  aimed 
at  is  good,  and  good  is  the  actual  issue  in  the  final  result  of  things.” — Ibid. 
p.  376. 

These  quotations  —  which  might  have  been  inserted  at  the  end  of  the 
proof  that  evil  is  the  means  of  producing  good — establish,  beyond  doubt,  the 
fact,  that  the  position  there  contended  for  was  believed  by  this  writer,  and 
that  he  asserts  and  defends  it  in  that  very  work,  the  study  of  which  the  Eclectic 
KevieAver  so  earnestly  recommends,  and  which  he  considers  as  so  decisive  an 
authority.  The  Reviewer  says, — “  The  argument  a  priori  in  favour  of  the 
doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration  is  not  only  specious,  but  satisfactory,  if  the 


MORAL,  LIKE  NATURAL,  EVIL  PRODUCES  GOOD. 


71 


Though  natural  evil  is  so  obviously,  in  some  eases,  the 
means  of  producing  a  preponderance  of  good,  and  though  we 
have  the  fullest  assurance  from  the  best-established  analogy 
that  it  is  so  in  all,  yet,  on  account  of  oar  total  ignorance 
of  many  parts  of  nature  and  our  inability  to  comprehend 
the  great  whole,  there  are  numerous  instances  in  which 
we  cannot  see  how  it  will  have  this  issue. 

Of  the  moral  world  we  are  still  more  ignorant.  Mind, 
its  operations,  the  laws  by  which  it  is  governed,  its  rela¬ 
tion  to  other  minds,  and  to  the  great  Eternal  Mind,  its 
volitions,  and  the  actions  that  depend  upon  its  volitions — 
in  a  word,  the  whole  of  this  vast  system  appears  to  us 
much  more  obscure  and  complicated  even  than  the  rela¬ 
tions  of  physical  objects  to  each  other,  and  the  manner  in 
which  each  promotes  the  order  and  harmony  of  the  whole. 
That  we  should  find  a  still  greater  difficulty  in  explaining 
how  a  preponderance  of  good  should  be  the  result  of  the 
prevalence  of  moral  evil,  is,  therefore,  to  be  expected;  but 
whatever  difficulty  we  may  have  in  explaining  the  manner 
of  the  fact,  of  the  fact  itself  we  cannot  doubt.  For  it  has 
been  shown  that  moral  evil  is  evil  only  as  it  is  the  cause 
of  natural  evil :  that  were  moral  evil  without  any  tendency 
to  produce  natural  evil,  it  would  be  no  longer  moral  evil ; 
it  would  be  no  longer  evil  of  any  kind.  Since,  then. 


one  thing  which  requires  to  be  proved  is  taken  for  granted — if  it  be  allowed 
that  Evil  is  a  branch  of  the  Divine  contrivance  for  the  production  of  a  higher 
ultimate  good  to  the  creature.”  If,  then,  there  be  any  truth  or  authority  in 
the  opinion  of  J onathan  Edwards,  this  doctrine  must  be  admitted  to  be  estab¬ 
lished.  The  passages  already  cited  are  in  Edwards’  own  words,  but  he  quotes 
with  approbation  the  following  passages  from  the  work  of  an  American  author  : — 
“  If  the  Author  and  Governor  of  all  things  be  infinitely  perfect,  then  whatever 
is,  is  right  ;  of  all  possible  systems  he  has  chosen  the  best ,  and,  consequently, 
there  is  no  absolute  evil  in  the  universe.  If  we  own  the  existence  of  evil  in  the 
world  in  an  absolute  sense,  we  diametrically  contradict  what  has  been  just  now 
proved  of  God.  He  intends  and  pursues  the  universal  good  of  his  creation  ;  and 
the  evil  which  happens  is  not  permitted  for  its  own  sake,  or  through  any  plea¬ 
sure  in  evil,  but  because  it  is  requisite  to  the  greater  good  pursued.”  The  words 
in  italics  are  so  printed  in  Edwards. — Freedom  of  the  Will ,  pp.  370,  371. 
These  passages  are  quoted  from  Turnbull’s  Principles  of  Moral  Philosophy. 

Thus  Jonathan  Edwards  affirms  that  “  there  is  no  absolute  evil  in  the  uni¬ 
verse  the  Eclectic  Reviewer,  on  the  contrary,  maintains  that  “there  is  no 
proposition  more  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  true  religion,  considered  as 
a  habit  of  the  mind,  than  that  evil  is  essentially  and  ultimately  evil.”  The 
opinion  of  this  writer  is,  therefore,  in  direct  opposition  to  that  of  Jonathan 
Edwards  ;  while  the.  great  and  fundamental  principal  contended  for  in  the 
Freedom  of  the  Will ,  and  in  the  Divine  Government ,  is  precisely  the  same. 


72 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


natural  evil  is  universally  acknowledged  to  be  tbe  means 
of  producing  good,  moral  evil  must  of  necessity  be  so,  be¬ 
cause  it  contains  no  evil  but  natural,  all  tbe  evil  it  contains 
being  identical  with  natural  evil.  Whatever  perplexity, 
therefore,  may  be  occasioned  by  the  contemplation  of  any 
particular  instance  of  moral  evil,  of  all  the  relations  of 
which  we  are  ignorant,  this  single  consideration  would 
seem  to  be  sufficient  to  set  the  mind  at  rest  on  this  diffi¬ 
cult  and  most  important  subject. 

But,  in  point  of  fact,  we  have  the  like  proof  from  ex¬ 
perience,  that  moral  evil  is  the  means  of  producing  good, 
that  we  have  of  the  beneficial  operation  of  natural  evil.  If 
there  be  one  individual  the  disposition  of  whose  mind  and 
the  conduct  of  whose  life  have  been  improved  by  the 
moral  evils  into  which  he  has  fallen,  this  proof  is  estab¬ 
lished.  There  is  no  more  reason  in  the  nature  of  the  thing 
why  the  temporary  prevalence  of  vice  may  not  lead  to 
the  advancement  and  exaltation  of  virtue,  than  why 
the  temporary  derangement  of  the  functions  of  a  cor¬ 
poreal  organ  may  not  excite  actions  within  it  which 
shall  ultimately  produce  a  more  firm  and  vigorous  health. 
We  know,  by  experience,  that  the  latter  is  often  the  case, 
and  experience  gives  us  the  same  assurance  that  the  former 
is  so.  How  many  persons  have  been  taught  by  the  seduc¬ 
tions  of  sin,  with  a  strength  of  feeling  which  no  other 
means  could  have  excited,  the  sweetness  and  loveliness  of 
goodness  !  How  many  have  been  induced  to  attach  them¬ 
selves  to  virtue  with  an  ardour  and  devotedness  which 
could  not  have  existed  had  they  not  experienced  the  mean¬ 
ness  and  odiousness  of  vice  !  How  deep  a  sense,  how 
affecting  an  impression  of  piety,  has  sometimes  imme¬ 
diately  succeeded  some  blameable  neglect  of  its  duties  or 
forgetfulness  of  its  spirit  !  How  many  thousands  have 
been  taught  the  enormity,  and  saved  from  the  commission 
of  great  crimes,  by  the  stings  of  remorse  produced  by  the 
consciousness  of  lesser  guilt !  These  and  many  similar 
examples  are  indications  that  moral  evil  is  a  most  active 
and  beneficent  agent  in  forming  and  perfecting  the  moral 
character ;  they  afford  good  reason  to  believe  that  it  will 
be  the  means,  through  every  future  period  of  its  existence, 
of  rendering  the  human  being  holier  and  happier.  Al¬ 
though  at  present  its  agency  is  thus  obviously  beneficial 


MORAL  EVIL  OFTEN  ESSENTIAL  TO  VIRTUE. 


73 


only  in  a  few  individuals,  yet  tlie  present  is  the  first  state 
of  discipline  in  which  the  evil-doer  has  been  placed,  and 
there  is  an  eternity  before  him,  and  all  the  various  means 
which  absolute  wisdom  and  unbounded  power  can  bring 
to  operate  upon  him. 

The  examples  to  which  allusion  has  been  made  establish 
the  fact,  that  the  operation  of  moral  evil  is  beneficial  to 
the  moral  delinquent.  One  such  example  is  sufficient  to 
prove  the  truth  of  the  principle,  and  the  principle  once 
established,  the  great  difficulty  which  seems  to  attach  to 
the  Divine  government  is  removed.  All  instances  appear¬ 
ing  to  lead  to  an  opposite  conclusion,  from  our  not  knowing 
how  they  will  terminate  in  producing  a  preponderance  of 
good,  are  merely  arguments  from  our  ignorance.  However 
numerous  or  perplexing,  they  afford  not  the  slightest 
evidence  in  contradiction  to  a  principle  established  by 
positive  proof :  they  are  mere  appearances  :  appearances 
as  likely  to  be  false  as  real :  it  is  as  conceivable  that  they 

O  v 

may  be  in  perfect  accordance  with  this  principle  as  in 
contradiction  to  it.  Of  this  principle,  in  the  mean  time, 
there  is  certain  evidence,  and  this  evidence  cannot  of 
course  be  affected  by  appearances  which  may  as  reasonably 
be  supposed  to  be  in  harmony  with  it  as  in  opposition 
to  it. 

It  is  universally  acknowledged  that  moral  evil  is  es- 

J  O 

sential  to  the  existence  of  some  virtues.  Forbearance, 
forgiveness,  clemency,  generosity,  resistance  to  tempta¬ 
tion,  devotedness  to  the  reformation  of  vice — all  these 
necessarily  imply  the  prevalence  of  moral  evil.  Moral 
evil,  then,  constitutes  an  essential  part  of  that  discipline 
to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  formation  and  the  vigour 
of  the  highest  excellencies.  This  is  a  separate  and  a 
decisive  proof  of  the  beneficial  operation  of  moral  evil  in 
general ;  and  it  is  a  presumptive  proof  that  it  will  be 
ultimately  beneficial  in  every  instance. 

W  e  can  conceive  that  beings  of  a  higher  order  might 
nave  needed  no  experience  of  vice  to  teach  them  the  beauty 
and  excellence  of  virtue ;  that  they  might  have  been  made 
sensible  of  the  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of 
the  Deity,  by  being  rendered  perfectly  happy  in  him,  and 
in  each  other ;  but  it  does  not  seem  possible  for  such  im¬ 
perfect  creatures  as  we  are  to  have  attained  to  this  know- 


74 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


ledge  and  felicity  witliout  some  previous  admixture  of 
suffering.  By  no  other  means  could  we  have  had  so  deep 
a  sense  of  the  mercy  of  our  heavenly  Father,  of  his  for¬ 
giveness,  of  his  infinite  goodness  in  providing  the  means 
of  escaping  from  the  consequences  of  sin,  and  in  holding 
out  to  us  so  glorious  a  reward  for  our  sincere  endeavours 
to  prepare 'ourselves  for  pure  and  unmixed  happiness.  By 
the  memory  of  our  former  imperfections  and  sufferings,  by 
the  power  of  contrast,  or,  perhaps,  by  means  inseparably 
connected,  with  what  we  now  are,  though  we  cannot  trace 
the  connection,  or  by  other  methods  which  we  cannot  at 
present  comprehend,  he  may  make  us,  through  every 
future  period  of  our  being,  unspeakably  better  and  happier 
for  what  we  endure,  than  we  could  otherwise  have  been. 
He  has  infinite  compensation  in  his  power;  and  if  our 
infirmities  and  pains  are  necessary  to  our  own  well-being, 
and  to  the  order  and  harmony  of  the  system,  to  have  with¬ 
held  them  would  not  have  been  benevolence,  but  the  want 
of  it. 

Upon  the  whole,  then,  if  some  degree  of  evil,  both 
natural  and  moral,  be  indispensable,  if  this  evil  be  made 
the  means  of  producing  a  preponderance  of  good ;  and  if 
the  compensation  thus  afforded  for  its  temporary  pre¬ 
valence,  extending  through  eternity,  be  absolutely  without 
limit,  the  perfect  benevolence  of  the  Deity  must  be  ad¬ 
mitted  to  be  established.  And  it  cannot  but  afford  the 
contemplative  and  virtuous  mind  the  highest  satisfaction 
to  know,  that  the  actual  amount  of  moral  evil  is  extremely 
small  compared  with  what  is  commonly  apprehended. 
For  one  crime  there  are  many  virtues :  for  one  act  of 
cruelty  there  are  ten  of  kindness :  for  one  offence  destruc¬ 
tive  to  the  happiness  of  individuals  and  of  society,  there 
are  a  thousand  innocent,  peaceful,  and  generous  transac¬ 
tions.  The  worst  characters  are  often  acquired  by  one  or 
two  evil  actions,  and  if  the  deeds  of  any  one  day  in  the 
life  of  any  bad  man,  however  devoted  to  wickedness,  be 
examined,  there  will  be  found  ten  that  are  useful,  or,  at 
least,  innoxious,  for  one  that  is  positively  injurious.  A 
single  instance  of  theft,  violence,  or  murder,  fills  a  whole 
neio’hbourhood  with  consternation ;  and  oftentimes  forms 
the  topic  of  conversation  for  weeks  or  months;  but  no  one 
thinks  of  noticing  the  thousands  and  thousands  of  innocent. 


THE  EVILS  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


h*  * 

/O 

peaceful,  honest,  and  benevolent  actions  wliicli  are  per¬ 
formed  every  day.  The  reason  is,  that  the  latter  ame  the 

ft  ' 

common  and  ordinary  events  of  life ;  the  former  its  rare 
occurrences.  One  evil  action  may  deprive  a  person  or 
many  persons  of  existence ;  but  no  life  can  have  been 
reared  and  protected  to  maturity  or  adolescence  without 
the  exercise  of  more  charities,  of  more  truly  humane  and 
virtuous,  and  often-repeated  sympathies,  than  it  is  possible 
to  number. 

Is  o thing  can  be  unjust,  if  it  be  not  unjust  in  the  great 
question  concerning  moral  evil  to  overlook  its  real  tendency 
and  its  actual  amount. 


PAET  II. 

CHAPTER  I. — Section  III. 

OF  THE  EVILS  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE,  AND  ESPECIALLY  OF  THE 
EVILS  WHICH  APE  ALLEGED  TO  RESULT  FROM  THE  PRINCIPLE 
OF  POPULATION. 

There  is  another  class  of  evil  which,  though  it  is  really 
of  the  same  nature  as  moral  evil,  and  is  only  a  particular 
modification  of  it,  yet  deserves  a  separate  consideration, 
because  it  is  under  this  form  that  the  most  frequent 
and  calamitous  examples  of  moral  evil  occur.  It  is 
not  wonderful  that  the  evils  which  have  hitherto  been 
found  inseparable  from  the  social  state,  should  have  ex¬ 
cited  the  most  deep  and  abiding  doubts  of  the  perfect 
goodness  of  the  Creator,  because  they  are  constantly- 
forced  on  our  observation,  they  are  subject  to  peculiar  oc¬ 
casional  aggravations,  and  they  are  at  all  times  unequal 
in  their  distribution.  But  a  calm  investigation  of  their 
nature,  their  amount,  their  mitigations,  and  their  tendency, 
will  satisfy  the  mind  that  their  appointment  is  consistent 
with  perfect  benevolence. 

The  chief  evils  of  the  social  state  arc  poverty,  depend¬ 
ence,  and),  servitude.  The  vice  and  misery  to  which  these 
evils  .at  all  times  give  rise,  and  the  mental  and  moral  de- 


76 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


gradation  and  wretchedness  which  they  sometimes  produce, 
are  so  extreme,  that,  in  the  contemplation  of  them,  and 
especially  while  suffering  under  them,  it  may  too  often, 
with  truth,  be  said,  that  “  Reason  stands  aghast,  and 
Faith  herself  is  half  confounded.”  It  does,  indeed,  require 
a  most  clear  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  prin¬ 
ciples  and  ends  of  the  Divine  government  to  think  and 
feel  aright  amidst  the  sorrows  and  the  crimes  of  life. 

These  evils,  terrible  as  they  are,  it  does  not  seem 
possible  for  infinite  wisdom  and  benevolence  wholly  to 
have  avoided.  For,  to  beings  constituted  as  men  are  con¬ 
stituted,  possessing  only  a  limited  understanding,  having 
mutual  intercourse,  and  standing  in  need  of  each  other's 
assistance  to  promote  the  common  good,  sopie  kind  of 
government  is  indispensable.  But  it  is  impossible  to  ad¬ 
minister  the  affairs  of  the  community  without  a  delegation 
of  the  power  to  some  one,  or  to  some  few,  to  determine 
the  measures  to  be  pursued  for  the  common  good.  Those 
intrusted  with  this  power  must  be  in  better  circumstances 
than  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  obey  :  that  is,  they  may, 
with  greater  certainty  and  ease,  and  in  more  cases,  obtain 
their  ends,  effect  their  choice,  and  accomplish  their  desires.* 
By  greater  talents,  or  greater  industry,  or  better  health, 
or  better  opportunities,  or  more  favourable  conjunctures, 
some  must  become  more  wealthy  than  others,  while,  from 
a  want  of  talents,  of  industry,  of  health,  or  of  opportunities, 
some  must  be  reduced  to  poverty,  and  hence  the  other 
great  evils  of  the  social  state,  dependence  and  servitude, 
must  inevitably  follow. 

A  state  of  perfect  equality  is  indeed  conceivable  and 
perhaps  possible,  in  which  all  men  might  live  together  in 
ease  and  plenty,  sharing  alike  the  bounties  of  nature. 
This  is  a  speculation  in  which  some  of  the  wisest  and  best 
men  have  delighted  to  indulge,  for  in  the  realization  of  this 
captivating  vision  they  have  anticipated,  not  only  a  vast 
addition  to  the  sum  of  positive  enjoyment,  but  a  total 
absence  of  all  the  evils  peculiar  to  the  social  state.  And, 
without  doubt,  in  a  society  thus  constituted,  the  absence 
of  poverty,  dependence,  and  servitude  might  be  secured; 
but  it  is  questionable  whether  the  sum  of  enjoyment  would 

*  Note  G,  by  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  in  King’s  Origin  of  Evil,  p.  116. 


DEPENDENCE  A  STIMULUS  TO  EXERTION. 


77 


be  increased,  and  whether  the  disadvantages  of  such  a 
change  would  not  overbalance  the  advantages.  For  in  a 
state  of  equal  and  universal  plenty,  ease,  and  happiness, 
what  is  there  that  could  afford  that  stimulus  to  exertion 
which  is  essential  to  the  development  of  the  noblest  facul¬ 
ties  of  our  nature  ?  All  observation,  all  experience,  all 
history,  whether  extending  back  to  the  earliest  periods  of 
which  we  have  any  record  of  our  race,  or  embracing  any 
intermediate  period  down  to  the  present,  whether  relating 
to  savage  or  to  civilized  society,  prove  that  man,  in  all 
countries,  in  all  climates,  under  all  institutions,  in  fact, 
under  every  variety  of  circumstance  hitherto  known,  sinks 
into  a  state  of  indolence  when  not  excited  to  action  by 
some  powerful  stimulus.  And  that  a  state  of  indolence  is 
a  state  in  which  the  human  faculties  not  only  could  not  be 
improved,  but  could  not  even  be  unfolded,  has  never  been 
called  in  question. 

A  provision  for  this  stimulus  was,  therefore,  indis¬ 
pensable,  and  by  the  existing  structure  of  society  it  is 
afforded.  Its  effect  is  to  place  every  individual  in  circum¬ 
stances  which  force  him  to  exertion.  Either  for  himself  or 
for  those  dear  to  him  as  himself ;  either  by  the  direct 
pressure  of  want  or  by  the  fear  of  want ;  either  to  main¬ 
tain  himself  in  the  situation  in  which  he  is  placed  by  birth 
or  to  raise  himself  to  a  higher  rank  ;  every  one  is  compelled 
to  the  cultivation  and  exercise  of  his  powers.  No  one  can 
be  idle.  In  a  world  which  will  produce  nothing  without 
culture,  in  a  state  of>  society  in  which  the  consumers  are 
constantlv,  however  slowlv,  increasing,  everv  one  who 
partakes  of  the  supply  actually  raised  must  contribute 
to  its  replenishing.  The  difficulty,  yet  the  absolute  neces¬ 
sity,  of  procuring  food,  puts  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind  on 
the  stretch,  to  invent  expedients  for  increasing  its  quantity, 
and  for  abridging  the  labour  necessary  to  raise  it.  Hence 
arts  are  cultivated,  and  hence  in  the  progress  of  society,  of 
which  this  activity  is  the  efficient  cause,  and  in  the  division 
of  property  and  the  distinction  of  ranks,  which  wonder¬ 
fully  increase  this  activity,  and  render  it  indispensable, 
leisure  is  afforded  to  some  for  the  pursuits  of  science ;  so 
that  while  the  productions  of  the  arts  which  embellish  life, 
and  add  to  its  happiness  in  a  degree  of  which  it  is  not 
possible  that  we  can  adequately  judge,  are  multiplied,  the 


78 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


mind  is  further  expanded,  and  the  faculties  strengthened, 
and  the  manners  softened,  and  the  heart  meliorated  by 
philosophy  and  literature. 

There  is  not,  indeed,  among  the  inestimable  blessings 
of  civilization,  a  single  good  for  which  man  is  not  indebted, 
directly  or  remotely,  to  this  stimulus,  and  which  may  not 
be  traced  either  to  the  hope  of  bettering  his  condition,  or 
the  fear  of  making  it  worse,  or  to  some  habit  of  mental  or 
corporeal  exertion  induced  by  that  hope  of  rising,  or  that 
fear  of  falling,  which  any  structure  of  society  at  all  re¬ 
sembling  the  present,  must  ever  supply  and  ever  render 
vigorous.  Put  an  end  to  that  stimulus,  and  you  put  an 
end  at  once  to  all  the  projects  of  the  head  and  all  the 
labours  of  the  hand ;  you  not  only  render  advancement 
impossible,  but  retrogression  inevitable ;  you  reduce  the 
world  to  a  waste,  and  you  exchange  the  refined  and  dig¬ 
nified  pleasures  of  society  for  the  wretchedness  of  the 
naked  savage. 

Any  change,  therefore,  with  whatever  advantages  it 
might  otherwise  be  attended,  which  should  take  away 
this  essential  stimulus,  must  be  fatal  to  maw’s  highest 
happiness. 

Moreover,  if  it  be  the  Creators  design  (and  that  it  is, 
reason  and  revelation  alike  declare)  by  the  circumstances 
of  the  present  state  to  form  and  to  prove  our  character,  to 
prepare  us  for  future  happiness,  and  to  make  our  own 
exertions  in  a  great  measure  the  means  of  securing  it,  no¬ 
thing  can  be  conceived  better  adapted  to  accomplish  this 
purpose  than  a  state  of  society  so  constructed  as  to  admit 
of  poverty,  dependence,  and  servitude.  For  while  such  a 
constitution  of  society  is  admirably  calculated  to  produce 
and  foster  the  hio-hest  excellencies  of  which  our  nature  is 

O 

capable,  no  concomitant  evils,  however  calamitous,  can 
reasonably  disturb  our  minds,  because  they  are  only 
temporary ;  their  existence  is  limited,  ours  is  without 
end ;  they  exist  for  a  time,  but  it  is  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
making  us  blessed  throughout  eternity.  In  what  way 
some  particular  combinations  of  these  evils  will  ultimately 
contribute  to  the  excellence  of  our  character  and  the 
augmentation  of  our  happiness,  we  do  not  know ;  but  we 
know  that  they  will  do  so,  and  that  they  exist  for  no  other 
purpose.  And  if  this  be  the  truth,  if  we  are  really  en- 


EVILS  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE  OFTEN  OVERRATED. 


79 


dowed  with,  an  improvable  nature ;  if  we  are  placed  in 
circumstances  which  must  necessarily  call  forth  and  in¬ 
vigorate  our  faculties  ;  if  though  weak,  ignorant,  and  suf¬ 
fering,  in  this  the  commencement  of  our  careen,  we  be 
indeed  destined  to  an  everlasting  progress  in  knowledge, 
virtue,  and  happiness  ;  if  all  the  evils  to  which  we  are 
now  subject  are  intended  to  be,  and  actually  are,  the 
means  of  securing  and  promoting  that  progress  ;  if  the 
present  be  but  the  first  stage  of  our  great  journey;  if  we 
shall  soon  enter  on  another  state,  in  which  all  that  seems 
disordered  now  will  then  appear  harmonious,  because  de¬ 
signs  which  are  only  commenced  here  will  there  be  carried 
on  and  perfected ;  in  a  word,  if  there  be  reserved  for  us 
an  immortality  of  unmixed,  universal,  and  ever- enduring 
enjoyment,  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator,  in  giving  us 
existence  and  placing  us  in  our  present  circumstances,  is 
not  only  not  questionable,  but  is  perfect  and  infinite ;  and 
to  argue  that  it  is  cpiestionable  on  account  of  the  partial 
and  temporary  prevalence  of  these  evils,  is  as  rash  and 
foolish  as  it  would  be,  on  observing  a  complicated  piece  of 
machinery,  in  which  were  seen  numerous  wheels,  some 
working  in  opposite  directions,  and  apparently  counteract¬ 
ing  the  movements  of  others,  to  say  that  the  master- 
spring,  by  which  all  is  kept  in  motion,  produces  nothing 
but  confusion,  without  attending  to  the  result  of  the  whole, 
— a  result,  perhaps,  simple  ancf  beautiful. 

Whatever,  therefore,  be  the  amount  of  the  evils  which 
prevail  in  that  part  of  the  system  which  we  at  present  see, 
this  account  of  their  purpose  and  operation  is  sufficient  to 
make  the  system  itself  appear,  as  indeed  it  is,  perfectly 
harmonious  and  infinitely  good. 

Nor  can  it  with  the  least  justice  be  objected,  that  even 
allowing  to  these  evils  the  purpose  which  is  here  assigned, 
they  are  greater  than  is  necessary,  because  if  the  principle 
be  admitted  on  which  the  preceding  reasoning  is  founded, 
that  is  all  which  can  be  required.  He  is  as  ill-instructed 
in  philosophy  as  he  is  in  tho  proper  office  of  human  reason, 
who  supposes  that,  with  its  present  knowledge,  it  can  de¬ 
termine,  not  only  the  exact  means,  but  the  exact  measure 
and  proportion  of  the  means,  by  which  it  is  fit  that  the 
Creator  should  accomplish  the  purposes  of  his  creation. 

Nor  can  it  be  doubted,  that  both  the  number  and  mag- 


80 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


nitude  of  the  evils  of  tlie  social  state  are  in  general  ex¬ 
ceedingly  overrated.  Often  there  is  no  real  evil  where 
ranch  is  apprehended,  and  where  evil  does  exist,  it  is 
generally  accompanied  with  many  mitigations. 

Were  the  accommodations  of  the  affluent  universal,  the 
evils  of  the  social  state  would  in  the  general  estimation 
almost  cease  to  exist ;  for  of  the  condition  of  the  rich  no 
complaint  is  made,  the  general  conviction  being,  that 
their  sources  of  happiness  are  certain  and  abundant;  but 
the  question  which  constantly  forces  itself  on  the  mind  is, 
Why  is  the  allotment  of  good  so  unequal  ?  Why  are  the 
rich  blessed  with  everything  that  can  gratify  the  sense 
and  refine  the  mind,  and  the  poor  “  deprived  of  almost 
every  accommodation  that  can  render  life  tolerable  or  se¬ 
cure  ?  ” 

The  answer  is,  that  in  general  the  allotment  of  good  is 
not  unequal ;  and  that  in  the  few  cases  in  which  it  is  un¬ 
equal,  alleviations  are  afforded  which  render  the  very  ex¬ 
istence  of  the  evils  complained  of  at  least  questionable. 
He  can  have  looked  into  human  life  but  seldom,  and 
never  with  attention,  who  has  not  found  the  fact  often 
forced  upon  his  observation,  that  happiness  is  much  more 
equally  distributed  than  a  survey  of  the  external  circum¬ 
stances  of  society  would  render  probable. 

The  advantages  of  the  rich  over  the  poor,  to  which  the 
mind  most  readily  adverts,  and  which  appear  at  first  sight 
extremely  great,  are  exemption  from  labour  and  superior 
accommodations. 

Exemption  from  labour  is  so  far  from  giving  the  rich 
any  real  advantage  over  the  poor,  that  the  want  of  fixed, 
regular  employment  is  one  of  the  very  means  by  which 
the  actual  enjoyment  of  the  former  is  brought  down  to  a 
level  with  that  of  the  latter.  Occupation  is  essential  to 
human  happiness.  The  real  enjoyment  of  the  man  who 
rises  every  day  with  a  certain  portion  of  work  to  accom¬ 
plish,  provided  it  be  not  oppressive  to  the  strength  or 
the  faculties,  is  as  much  greater  than  the  happiness  of  him 
who  is  without  occupation,  as  the  apparent  accommoda¬ 
tions  of  the  prince  are  superior  to  those  of  the  peasant. 
Nothing  is  more  common  than  complaints  of  the  fatigue  of 
labour  and  the  irksomeness  of  business  :  nothing  is  more 
conducive,  and  nothing  more  indispensable,  to  happiness. 


POVERTY  HAS  NUMEROUS  COMPENSATIONS. 


81 


Tlie  complaints  which  are  made  of  the  constancy  and 
severity  of  manual  labour,  as  labour  is  distributed  at  pre¬ 
sent.,  are  much  more  reasonable.  And  yet  the  cheerful¬ 
ness  of  the  husbandman  as  he  pursues  his  daily  toil  is 
proverbial.  The  expression  of  his  countenance  is  not  that 
of  misery;  the  language  of  his  tongue  is  not  that  of  mur¬ 
muring.  Countenances  pale  with  care ;  countenances 
darkened  with  the  gloom  of  disappointment  and  despond¬ 
ency,  and  which  appear  but  the  darker  for  the  smile  that 
sometimes  sits  on  them ;  countenances  which  exhibit  an 
appalling  picture  of  tumultuous  passion,  of  bitter,  unre- 
compensed  suffering,  must  be  sought  where  the  wealthy 
toil  for  wealth,  where  the  ambitious  strive  to  rise,  and  the 
risen  fear  to  fall.  The  labourer  is  a  stranger  to  the  very 
name  of  these  sufferings,  than  which  the  human  heart 
knows  few  more  dreadful.  His  day  is  peaceful ;  his  pillow 
receives  him  to  undisturbed  and  refreshing  slumber  :  in 
the  past  he  sees  nothing  to  regret,  in  the  future  nothing 
to  fear :  his  task  is  regular ;  his  recompense  is  certain : 
and  here  is  his  compensation,  and  the  rich  know  it  is  a 
compensation,  for  the  want  of  the  conveniences  which 
riches  purchase.  The  severity  of  his  labour,  without  doubt, 
is  greater  than  is  consistent  with  humanity,  or  required 
by  utility ;  but  as  the  arts  improve,  the  necessity  of  great 
manual  exertion  will  be  lessened,  and,  as  society  advances, 
the  time  requisite  to  devote  to  industry  will  be  abridged. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  oppressiveness  of  labour  is  much 
more  really  than  apparently  diminished  by  that  power 
which  the  human  strength  possesses  of  accommodating 
itself  to  its  imposed  burthen  :  and  it  is  observable,  that 
excessive  as  the  exertions  of  the  labouring  classes  are, 
their  recreations  are  all  athletic.* 

There  is  little  foundation  for  the  complaint  of  the  irk¬ 
someness  of  the  employments  to  which  great  numbers  are 
condemned.  To  employments  the  most  disgusting  the 
mind  is  reconciled  bp  habit.  The  tastes  of  men  are  in- 
finitely  various.  An  occupation  of  which  one  person  can 
never  think  without  horror  another  chooses  and  deligdits 

*  There  are  large  masses  of  the  population,  both  in  town  and  countiw,  lower 
than  those  here  alluded  to,  of  which  the  author  later  in  life  knew  more  than  he 
did  when  this  was  written,  hut  he  felt  that  his  general  argument  would  embrace 
even  them. 


6 


82 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


in ;  a  situation  in  which  one  man  would  die  of  disgust  is 
endeared  to  another  by  the  gratifications  of  which  it  is  the 
source.  Professions  the  most  laborious  and  hazardous  are 
often  the  fixed  choice  of  those  who  might  have  pursued 
the  most  easy  and  secure  :  there  is  no  occupation  forced 
on  man  by  necessity  which  is  without  its  compensation ; 
and  no  situation  so  advantageous  as  to  be  the  object  of 
general  ambition  which  is  without  its  peculiar,  and,  not 
unfrequently,  its  over-balancing  inconvenience. 

At  least  with  equal  truth  it  may  be  affirmed,  that  the 
superior  accommodations  of  the  rich  uniformly  fail  to 
bring  with  them  the  happiness  they  promise.  There  is  a 
power  in  constant  operation  which,  notwithstanding*  the 
gaiety  and  pomp  of  their  appearance  ;  notwithstanding 
the  sumptuous  and  overflowing  board  which  is  daily  spread 
for  them,  levels  their  proud  distinctions ;  and  raises  the 
peasant,  in  his  humble  garb,  and  with  his  frugal  fare,  at 
least  to  an  equality  in  enjoyment :  that  power  is  habit. 
Be  the  apparel  of  the  rich  as  gorgeous  as  the  arts  of 
luxury  can  make  it,  it  affords  no  more  comfort  to  the 
wearer  than  the  coarsest  habiliment  of  poverty :  to  the 
pleasurable  sensations  of  the  body  its  costliness  cannot 
conduce  :  the  gratification  which  it  might  afford  the  mind 
is  effectually  counteracted  by  the  great  equalizer  of  the 
inequalities  of  fortune  ;  and  while  beneath  the  ermine  and 

a.  ' 

the  purple,  the  heart  is  oppressed  with  care,  or  torn  with 
the  fangs  of  wounded  pride  and  disappointed  ambition, 
beneath  the  texture  of  the  coarsest  woof  it  beats  with 
freedom  and  is  at  peace. 

Nor  can  the  luxuries  which  pamper  the  appetite  be 
reckoned  among  the  sources  of  pleasure,  though  they  may 
be,  and  are,  among  the  most  powerful  of  the  means  which 
equalize  the  actual  enjoyments  of  the  rich  and  poor,  by 
scourging  the  former  with  many  pains  and  diseases  to 
which  the  latter  are  strangers.  Luxury  many  pall  the 
senses,  and  does  so ;  but  it  neither  quickens  the  appetite 
nor  increases  the  pleasure  of  its  gratification.  The  peasant 
looks  forward  to  his  humble  repast  with  satisfaction,  a 
satisfaction  of  which  he  is  seldom  cheated,  while  the  rich 
sit  down  to  their  sumptuous  fare  with  little  appetite,  par¬ 
take  of  it  with  less  pleasure,  and  arise  without  refreshment. 
And  to  his  humble  habitation  the  peasant  is  as  completely 


HAPPINESS  INDEPENDENT  OF  CIECUM STANCES.  83 

reconciled  as  tlie  man  of  wealth  is  habitually  unconscious 
of  his  palace  :  habit,  which  makes  the  one  satisfied  without 
magnificence,  renders  magnificence  little  satisfactory  to 
the  other. 

These  are  plainly  adventitious  circumstances  of  which 
happiness  is  independent :  it  may  be  great  with  them  :  it 
may  be  equally  great  without  them.  In  the  essentials  of 
happiness,  in  occupation  and  health,  the  lot  of  the  poor  is 
at  least  as  favourable  as  that  of  the  rich,  while  their 
common  nature  is  subject  to  like  infirmities  :  both  are 
equally  exposed  to  pain  and  to  disease,  or,  if  in  these 
respects  one  be  more  exempted  from  suffering  than  the 
other,  that  exemption  is  in  favour  of  the  poor.  So  true  it 
is,  that  “  when  Providence  divided  the  earth  among  a  few 
lordly  masters,  it  neither  forgot  nor  abandoned  those  who 
seemed  to  have  been  left  out  in  the  partition.  In  what 
contributes  to  the  real  happiness  of  human  life,  these  last 
are  in  no  respect  inferior  to  those  •who  would  seem  so 
much  above  them.  In  ease  of  body,  and  peace  of  mind, 
the  different  ranks  of  life  are  nearly  upon  a  level.”* 

Nor  is  the  evil  which  is  incident  to  an  uncivilized  state 
by  any  means  so  great  as  is  commonly  imagined.  This  is 
a  class  of  evil  the  extent  of  which  is  at  all  times  small,  yet 
the  reality  is  less  than  the  appearance,  because  it  is  pro¬ 
vided  with  many  mitigations. 

From  the  difficulty  of  procuring  subsistence,  the  number 
of  persons  who  labour  under  the  privations  and  sufferings 
of  a  rude  state  of  society  must  of  necessity  be  small. 
TThenever  that  number  increases  so  as  to  become  con¬ 
siderable,  agriculture  must  be  cultivated,  some  degree  of 
civilization  must  commence,  and  its  progress  must  keep, 
at  least,  equal  pace  with  population.  It  has  been  esti¬ 
mated  that  the  evils  belonging  to  the  lovmst  state  of  the 
human  race  are  confined  to  the  four-hundredth  part  of  the 
whole;  and  that,  on  the  largest  calculation,  those  who 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  civilization  in  comparatively  a 
slight  degree  only,  cannot -exceed  a  fortieth  of  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  the  globe. 

Nor  are  these  people  wfithout  enjoyment.  Everything 
which  is  known  of  them  proves  that  their  situation  brings 


*  Smith’s  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  part  iv.  chap.  i. 


84 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


with  it  many  satisfactions.  It  is  indeed  so  greatly  en¬ 
deared  to  them,  that  it  is  with  the  utmost  difficulty  they 
can  he  induced  to  resign  it  for  one  which  reason  and  ex¬ 
perience  show  to  he  heyond  all  calculation  more  advan¬ 
tageous.  Of  this,  abundant  evidence  is  on  record.  Many 
experiments  which  have  been  made  on  individuals  and  on 
tribes  attest  the  fact.  “  These  people  are  not  envious  of 
that  civilization  of  wTiicli  we  are  so  proud.  We  may 
wonder  at  their  ignorance  and  prejudice,  but  we  must 
recollect  that  men  are  formed  by  habit,  and  that  all  their 
sufferings  and  enjoyments  are  comparative.  How  often 
do  we  see  them  rejoicing  under  hardships  and  bondage, 
and  repining  at  their  lot  when  courted  by  liberty  and 
fortune  !  The  feelings  we  receive  from  living  in  one  state 
of  society  disqualify  us  from  judging  of  those  of  another; 
but  he  who  has  travelled  over  the  greater  space  will  be 
most  struck  with  the  equal  dispensation  of  happiness  and 
misery,  and  his  value  for  knowledge  will  not  be  decreased 
by  observing,  that  those  are  not  always  the  most  happy 
who  possess  it.  The  savage  still  less  than  the  citizen  can 
be  made  to  quit  that  manner  of  life  in  which  he  is  trained; 
he  loves  the  freedom  of  mind  which  will  not  be  bound  to 
any  task  and  which  owns  no  superior  ;  and  however 
tempted  to  mix  with  polished  nations  and  to  better  his 
fortune,  the  first  moment  of  liberty  brings  him  to  his 
woods  again; What  is  the  just  inference  ?  Not  that 
his  choice,  when  he  has  the  power  to  choose,  is  wise  ;  not 
that  his  lot  while  he  remains  uncivilized  is  advantageous  : 
but  that  pain  cannot  press  heavily  on  him,  and  that  his 
situation  is  not  unproductive  of  pleasure.  When  he  feels 
the  pain  of  hunger  he  does  not  reject  food ;  when  he  sees 
danger  nigh  he  does  not  refuse  to  avoid  it ;  habit  can  do 
much,  but  it  cannot  make  a  human  being  in  love  with 
pain,  or  lead  him  to  consider  release  from  it  a  misfortune. 
From  the  fact,  then,  that  it  is  confessedly  difficult  to  wean 
the  savage  from  the  charms  of  an  indolent  and  wandering 
life,  it  is  certain  that  that  life  cannot  be  without  some 
compensation  for  the  evils  to  which  it  is  exposed. 

But  there  are  abundant  attestations  to  the  truth  that 
the  positive  pleasures  enjoyed  in  these  rude  states  of 


*  Malcolm’s  Persia,  vol.  ii.  p.  619. 


ENJOYMENTS  OF  SAVAGE  LIFE. 


85 


society  are  by  no  means  inconsiderable.  “  Among  the 
North -American  savages,  when  they  are  stationary,  and 
the  business  of  the  day  is  over,  it  is  customary  for  the 
entire  village  to  sup  together  at  the  same  time.  The 
prelude  to  it  is  a  dance  of  an  hour;  the  dancers  chanting 
singly  their  own  exploits,  and  jointly  those  of  their  an¬ 
cestors.”  * 

“  According  to  the  ideas  of  the  common  people  in  South 
America,”  says  Humboldt,  “  all  that  is  necessary  to  happi¬ 
ness  is  bananas,  salted  fish,  a  hammock,  and  a  guitar. 
The  hope  of  gain  is  a  weak  stimulus  under  a  zone  where 
beneficent  Nature  provides  to  man  a  thousand  means  of 
procuring  an  easy  and  peaceful  subsistence. ”t 

“  The  Negro  exists  on  his  native  soil  in  the  most  ao-ree- 

o  o 

able  apathy,  without  even  the  fear  of  want,  the  chagrin  of 
privation,  the  cares  of  ambition,  or  the  ardour  of  desire.” f 
At  sunrise  these  people  form  an  assembly,  and  as  they 
are  arranged  in  a  circle  consisting  of  thirty  or  forty  of  all 
ages,  pass  their  time  in  conversation.  Their  subjects  are 
inexhaustible ;  and  the  amusement  thus  furnished  is  so 
attractive,  that  they  separate  with  great  reluctance,  some¬ 
times  passing  the  entire  day  in  talking,  smoking,  and 
diversion.  “  Even  towards  evening  I  often  observed  these 
coteries  in  the  same  place,  and  conducted  with  the  same 
gaiety  and  spirit;  the  conversation  being  as  animated 
as  if  it  had  just  begun.”  §  The  evenings  are  devoted  to 
dancing :  for,  after  the  setting  of  the  sun,  every  village 
resounds  with  songs  and  music,  and  “  I  have  often,”  says 
Mr  Corry,  “  listened  to  them  with  attention  and  pleasure 
during  the  tranquil  evenings  of  the  dry  season.”  ||  Here, 
then,  in  the  easy  life  and  in  the  security  as  to  the  future 
resulting  from  it,  which  the  Indian  and  the  African,  and 
other  nations  in  similar  circumstances,  enjoy,  is  a  mitiga¬ 
tion  of  the  evils  to  which  they  are  subject  and  a  compensa¬ 
tion  for  the  inferior  rank  they  hold  in  the  great  aggregate 
of  human  society.^ 

*  Ashe,  of  the  Shawanese  on  the  hanks  of  the  Ohio,  vol.  iii.  p.  70. 

t  Ituniholdt,  vol.  iii.  p.  92.  t  Golberry,  vol.  ii.  p.  303. 

§  Golberry.  Cook  observes  the  same  of  the  Friendly  Islands.  Third  Voy¬ 
age,  vol.  i. 

||  Corry  on  the  Windward  Coast,  p.  153.  * 

ii  See  Records  of  the  Creation,  vol.  ii.  chap,  vi.,  in  which  the  evils  of  an 
uncivilized  state  are  fully  and  satisfactorily  considered. 


86 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


Nor  is  the  situation  of  the  lowest  of  mankind  unproduc¬ 
tive  of  those  circumstances  which  form  character  and 
constitute  a  state  of  discipline.  “  There  is  no  situation  in 
which  a  rational  being  is  placed,  from  that  of  the  best 
instructed  Christian  down  to  the  condition  of  the  rudest 
barbarian,  which  affords  not  room  for  moral  agency ;  for 
the  acquisition,  exercise,  and  display,  of  voluntary  quali¬ 
ties,  good  and  bad.  Health  and  sickness,  enjoyment  and 
suffering,  riches  and  poverty,  knowledge  and  ignorance, 
power  and  subjection,  liberty  and  bondage,  civilization 
and  barbarity,  have  all  their  offices  and  duties,  all  serve 
for  the  formation  of  character ;  for,  when  we  speak  of  a 
state  of  trial,  it  must  be  remembered  that  characters  are 
not  only  tried  or  proved,  or  detected,  but  that  they  are 
generated  also  and  formed,  by  circumstances.  The  best 
dispositions  may  subsist  under  the  most  depressed,  the 
most  afflictive  fortunes.  A  West -Indian  slave,  who,  with 
his  wrongs,  retains  his  benevolence,  I  for  my  part  look 
upon  as  amongst  the  foremost  of  human  characters  for  the 
rewards  of  virtue.  The  kind  master  of  such  a  slave,  that 
is,  he  who,  in  the  exercise  of  an  inordinate  authority, 
postpones  in  any  degree  his  own  interest  to  his  slave’s 
comfort,  is  likewise  a  meritorious  character :  but  still  he 
is  inferior  to  his  slave.  All,  however,  which  I  contend  for 
is,  that  these  situations,  opposite  as  they  may  be  in  every 
other  view,  are  both  trials,  and  equally  such.  The  observ¬ 
ation  may  be  applied  to  every  other  condition  :  to  the 
whole  range  of  the  scale,  not  excepting  even  its  lowest 
extremity.”* 

It  may  be  proper  in  concluding  this  survey  of  the  differ¬ 
ent  classes  of  evil,  to  notice  those  evils  of  the  social  state 
wdiich  are  supposed  to  result  from  what  is  termed  the 
principle  of  population.  The  author  of  the  Essay  on 
Population,  assuming  the  fact  that  the  human  species 
doubles  itself  in  the  United  States  of  America  every 
twenfcy-five  years,  argues  that  it  must  have  an  inherent 
tendency  to  this  duplication ;  and  that  consequently  it 
would  thus  double  itself  always  and  everywhere,  were  not 
the  increase  prevented  by  causes  to  which  sufficient  at¬ 
tention  has  not  been  paid.  Further,  he  maintains,  that 


*  Paley’s  Natural  Theology,  p.  528. 


OYER -POPULATION  THEORY  CONSIDERED. 


87 


while  a  thousand  millions  of  people  are  as  easily  doubled 
every  twenty-five  years  by  the  power  of  population,  as  a 
thousand,  the  food  to  support  this  vast  increase  can  by  no 
means  be  obtained  by  the  same  facility ;  that  man  is 
necessarily  confined  in  room ;  that  all  the  fertile  land  must 
soon  be  occupied ;  and,  in  short,  that  the  ascertained  law 
is,  that  population  increases  in  geometrical,  but  subsist¬ 
ence  in  arithmetical  progression. 

The  consequence  is  obvious.  Suppose  the  average  pro¬ 
duce  of  the  island  of  Great  Britain  could  be  doubled  in  the 
first  twentv-five  rears.  In  the  next  twentv-five  years  it  is 
impossible  to  suppose  it  could  be  quadrupled.  Suppose  it 
however  quadrupled.  Call  the  population  of  the  island 
eleven  millions,  and  suppose  the  present  produce  equal  to 
the  easy  support  of  such  a  number.  In  the  first  twenty- 
five  years  the  population  would  be  twenty-two  millions, 
and  the  food  being  also  doubled,  the  means  of  subsistence 


would  be  equal  to  this  increase.  In  the  next  twenty-five 
years  the  population  would  be  forty-four  millions,  and  the 
means  of  subsistence  only  equal  to  the  support  of  thirty- 
three  millions.  In  the  next  period  the  population  would  be 
eighty-eight  millions,  and  the  means  of  subsistence  just  equal 
to  the  support  of  half  that  number.  And,  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  first  century,  the  population  would  be  one  hundred 
and  seventv-six  millions,  and  the  means  of  subsistence 
only  equal  to  the  support  of  fifty-five  millions,  leaving  a 
population  of  one  hundred 'and  twenty-one  millions  totally 
unprovided  for. 

Moreover,  it  is  contended,  that  the  consequence  of  this 
principle  is  immediate  ;  that  long  before  all  the  land  in  a 
country  is  brought  under  cultivation,  or  that  which  best 
repays  the  labour  of  the  husbandman  affords  the  utmost  it 
is  capable  of  producing;  as  soon,  in  fact,  as  the  quantity 
of  food  actually  raised  is  inadequate  to  the  comfortable 
support  of  the  number  of  persons  actually  existing,  want, 
and  its  inseparable  companions,  vice  and  misery,  must  ap¬ 
pear.  That,  although  by  that  law  of  nature  which  renders 
food  necessary  to  the  life  of  man,  population  cannot  actu¬ 
ally  increase  beyond  the  lowest  nourishment  capable  of 
supporting  it,  yet  it  may,  and  its  constant  tendency  is, 
and,  in  point  of  fact,  it  always  does  increase  beyond  the 
supply  of  food  necessary  to  support  it  in  ease  and  comfort ; 


88 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


whence  this  hypothesis  explains  why  in  every  country  of 
which  there  is  any  record,  excepting  only  amongst  the  first 
possessors  of  uncleared  land,  poverty  prevails  amongst 
some  of  its  members ;  because,  from  a  principle  inherent 
in  human  nature,  the  tendency  of  the  human  race  is  to  in¬ 
crease,  till  the  population  presses  against  the  limit  of  the 
means  of  subsistence,  so  that  in  every  country  there  will 
always  be  a  greater  number  of  persons  than  the  actual  and 
available  supply  of  food  can  easily  and  comfortably  nourish. 

Into  the  controversy  to  which  these  speculations  have 
given  origin,  and  which  is  still  agitated,  this  is  not  the 
place  to  enter.  It  is  necessary  only  to  observe,  that  an  actual 
increase  of  the  human  species  in  a  geometrical  ratio,  for 
any  considerable  period  together,  is  impossible,  and  that 
this  impossibility  is  distinctly  admitted.  The  late  advo¬ 
cates  of  the  hypothesis  of  Mr  Malthus  are  anxious  to  dis¬ 
claim  all  idea  of  an  increase  in  any  proportion  that  is 
strictly  regular.  But  it  is  contended,  that  if  it  be  con¬ 
ceded  that  the  increase  at  the  assigned  rate  is  not  regular, 
the  nature  of  the  proposition  is  wholly  changed;  the 
geometrical  ratio  is  given  up,  and  all  that  can  be  said  of 
the  increase,  however  great  and  rapid,  is,  that  there  is  a 
power  in  the  human  species  to  multiply  its  numbers  greatly 
and  rapidly.  Mr  Malthus  says  that  population,  when  un¬ 
checked,  goes  on  doubling  itself  every  twenty-five  years  ; 
that  is,  goes  on  increasing  in  the  order  of  1,  2,  4,  8,  16, 
32,  64,  128,  256,  &c.  This,  it  is  argued,  is  not  possible, 
because  the  first  term  in  the  series  does  not  at  any  fixed 
period  with  invariable  certainty  become  two,  the  second 
term  ;  nor  does  two  at  any  fixed  period  with  invariable 
certainty  become  three ;  nor  three  four,  and  so  on.  That 
the  quantity  represented  by  these  terms  should,  at  the 
period  stated  in  the  proposition,  with  invariable  certainty 
be  doubled,  is  plainly  indispensable  to  the  progression. 
The  slightest  alteration  in  that  quantity  must  be  fatal  to  the 
uniformity  of  the  result ;  fatal,  that  is,  to  the  geometrical 
progression.  The  proposition  is,  that  the  quantity  repre¬ 
sented  by  1,  say  10,000,000,  in  twenty-five  years  becomes 
2,  that  is  20,000,000  ;  in  fifty  years  4,  that  is,  40,000,000 ; 
in  seventy-five  years  8,  that  is,  80,000,000 ;  in  one  hun¬ 
dred  years  16,  that  is,  160,000,000;  and  so  on.  But  if, 
m  the  precise  period  specified,  this  quantity  be  not  in- 


OYER-POPULATION  THEORY  CONSIDERED. 


89 


variably  augmented  in  this  precise  ratio ;  if  it  be  not  so 
augmented  in  every  successive  period ;  if,  at  one  period, 
the  number  remain  stationary,  at  another  increase,  and  at 
another  diminish,  there  can  be  no  proper  geometrical  pro¬ 
gression.*  Nothing,  then,  it  is  contended,  in  human  af¬ 
fairs  is  certain,  if  it  be  not  certain  that  the  increase  in 
the  numbers  of  mankind  is  most  irregular.  Sometimes 
for  a  certain  period,  say  twenty-five  years,  there  is  an  in¬ 
crease;  that  increase  has  never  been  known  to  proceed 
in  the  same  proportion  four  periods  together.  Sometimes 
for  a  certain  period  there  is  a  diminution ;  that  diminution 
has  never  been  known  to  proceed  in  the  same  proportion 
four  periods  together.  Sometimes  for  a  certain  period  the 
number  is  at  a  stand ;  the  period  during  which  it  remains 
stationary  is  equally  irregular.  How,  then,  it  is  de¬ 
manded,  can  numbers,  which  thus  incessantly  fluctuate, 
proceed  in  geometrical  progression  ? 

It  will  be  answered,  this  reasoning  is  founded  on  the 
actual ‘State  of  population,  whereas  the  argument  to  which 
it  is  opposed  has  respect  to  the  inherent  power  of  popula¬ 
tion  and  to  the  results  of  that  power,  supposing  its  opera¬ 
tions  were  unchecked.  It  is  replied,  that  it  has  been 

*  Since,  indeed,  the  second  generation  possesses  the  power  of  increasing  as 
fast  as  the  first,  and  the  third  as  fast  as  the  second,  and  so  on,  the  increase  may 
not  improperly  he  said  to  be  of  a  geometrical  character.  And,  in  this  sense,  it 
may  be  of  a  geometrical  character  without  being  in  strict  geometrical  progres¬ 
sion.  The  two  propositions  are  by  no  means  identical.  If  an  increase  at  a 
fixed  rate  has  never  gone  on  with  regularity  beyond  three  or  four  periods,  but 
the  regularity  of  the  progression  has  uniformly  been  interrupted,  and  always 
must  be  interrupted,  by  those  circumstances  which  are  denominated  checks,  in 
what  real  or  practical  sense  can  the  increase  be  said  to  be  in  geometrical  pro¬ 
gression  ?  What  is  gained  by  this  mode  of  expression  ?  Mr  Malthus  himself 
affirms,  that  “in  the  actual  state  of  every  society  which  has  come  within  our 
view,  the  natural  progress  of  population  has  been  constantly  and  powerfully 
checked,  and  that  no  improved  form  of  government,  no  plans  of  emigration,  no 
benevolent  institutions,  and  no  degree  or  direction  of  national  industry,  can 
prevent  the  continued  action  of  a  great  check  to  population  in  some  form  or 
other.”  (Essay  on  Population,  vol.  iii.  book  iv.  chap.  i.  pp.  63,  64,  fifth 
edition.)  What,  then,  is  the  utility  of  saying  that  population,  if  unchecked , 
would  increase  in  geometrical  progression,  when  it  is  thus  expressly  conceded 
that  population  can  never  be  without  the  continued  action  of  a  great  check  ? 
Surely,  without  clouding  the  subject  with  the  geometrical  progression,  it  would 
be  better  to  say,  that  there  is  a  constant  tendency  in  population  to  a  great  and 
rapid  increase  ;  that  population  must  always  possess  the  inherent  power  of 
doubling  its  numbers  as  easily  after  the  second  and  third,  or  after  the  hun¬ 
dredth  or  thousandth  duplication,  as  after  the  first,  but  that  this  cannot  possibly 
be  the  case  for  ever  with  subsistence. 


90 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


shown  above,  that  according  to  the  statement  of  Mr  Mal¬ 
thas  himself,  no  state  of  society  can  be  conceived  in  which 
checks  must  not  of  necessity  exist,  and  that,  therefore,  it 
is  of  the  essence  of  this  proposition  to  suppose  what  in 
the  nature  of  things  is  insupposable.  But  if  the  advocates 
of  this  hypothesis  will  be  content  to  say  that  there  is  an 
inherent  power  in  population,  constantly,  rapidly,  and 
greatly  to  increase,  there  will  no  longer  remain  any  es¬ 
sential  difference  of  opinion  between  them  and  their  op¬ 
ponents.  It  follows  from  some  of  Mr  Gfodwiids  own  state¬ 
ments,*  that  there  is  a  power  in  the  human  species,  under 
certain  circumstances,  rapidly  to  multiply  its  numbers,  and 
if  the  geometrical  ratio  be  given  up,  this  is  all  which  Mr 
Mai  thus  himself  can  affirm.  In  the  principle  that  there  is 
an  inherent  power  of  increase,  they  are  agreed  :  they  differ 
only  according  to  the  ratio  of  increase,  which  both  must 
allow  it  is  not  possible  to  determine  with  exactness  from 
any  data  we  yet  possess.  The  one  contends  that  the  ratio 
of  increase  is  extremely  rapid,  the  other,  that  though  it 
may  be  occasionally  rapid,  it  is  generally  slow  :  but,  at  all 
events,  Mr  Godwin  must  admit  the  truth  so  constantly 
and  earnestly  inculcated  by  Mr  Malthus,  for  it  follows 
from  the  facts  recognized  by  himself,  no  less  than  from 
the  theory  he  opposes,  namely,  that  prudential  restraint 
is  necessary,  that  without  it  indigence  is  inevitable,  and 
that  the  consequence  of  indigence  must  be  vice  and  misery. 

Without  doubt,  the  final  decision  of  this  controversy 
will  depend  upon  the  facts  that  shall  be  ascertained,  rela¬ 
tive  to  the  number  of  emigrants  into  America.  The 
system  of  Mr  Malthus  is  founded  upon  the  assumption 
that  the  increase  in  America  has  been  produced  by  pro¬ 
creation  only.  “  That  increase  has  frequently  been  as¬ 
certained  to  be  from  procreation  only,”  is  the  proposition 
to  which  he  constantly  has  recourse,  and  on  which  every¬ 
thing  is  made  to  rest.  If  this  proposition  shall  be  con¬ 
firmed,  his  system  is  established ;  if  it  shall  be  refuted,  it 
falls. 

To  a  certain  extent,  indeed,  some  objection  might  still 
reasonably  be  made  to  his  second  main  position,  namely, 
that  while  population,  if  suffered  to  expand  freely,  would 

*  Mr  Godwin  allows,  that  in  Sweden  there  has  been  a  doubling  of  the  popu¬ 
lation,  from  procreation  only,  in  little  more  than  one  hundred  years. 


PROGRESSIVE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  MAN. 


91 


go  on  for  ever  to  increase  in  geometrical  progression,  sub¬ 
sistence  could  not,  bv  the  wisest  and  best  combination  of 
human  agency,  be  doubled  faster  than  in  arithmetical  pro¬ 
gression.  In  answer  to  this  it  is  urged  that  civilization 
itself  is  founded  on  the  principle,  and  depends  upon  the 
fact,  that  every  man  has  the  power  of  producing  more 
than  is  necessary  to  his  own  subsistence:  and  that  this 

i  '  t 

alone  is  sufficient  to  prove,  that  let  mankind  increase  m 
whatever  ratio  they  mav,  subsistence  may  be  made  to 
keep  pace  with  it,  until  the  whole  habitable  globe  shall  have 
been  cultivated  in  such  a  manner  as  actually  to  yield  all  that 
it  is  'physically  capable  of  yielding  :  that  whatever  be  the 
ratio  of  increase  among  mankind,  it  is  in  the  power  of 
man  to  cause  vegetables  and  animals,  the  food  of  man,  to 
increase  with  ecpial  rapidity  up  to  the  point  just  stated : 
that  if  the  vegetable  productions  of  the  earth  cannot  be 

O  1 

doubled  in  a  geometrical  progression,  there  is  not  the 
shadow  of  reason  to  believe  that  anything'  in  nature  can  : 

Is  O  j 

and  that,  in  regard  to  animals,  if  they  increase  in  the 

J  C  J  t/ 

same  sort  of  - series  as  human  beings,  which  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt,  there  can  be  no  want  of  subsistence, 
whatever  be  that  series,  for  this  increase  is  subsistence. 
Lastly,  that  the  actual  increase,  whatever  be  its  ratio, 
must  necessarily  be  bv  infants,  who  consume  little:  that 
the  demand  for  subsistence,  therefore,  at  whatever  rate 
the  consumers  multiply,  must  be  gradual;  and,  conse¬ 
quently,  that  it  must  always  be  possible  to  raise  the  addi¬ 
tional  quantity  which  may  be  needed ;  at  least,  until  the 
earth  shall  be  physically  capable  of  yielding  no  more  than  it 
actually  produces. 

From  this  account  of  the  real  state  of  the  question,  the 
following’  conclusions  are  deducible,  for  the  sake  of  estab¬ 
lishing  which  the  subject  has  been  here  adverted  to. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  evident  that  even  if  the  law 
of  population  be  such  as  is  stated  by  Mr  Malthus,  it  is  not 
incompatible  with  the  progressive  improvement  of  man. 
It  is  commonly  said,  that  this  hypothesis  must  degrade 
man  in  the  estimation  of  man,  because  it  represents  him 
as  too  cheap ;  and  that  this  low  estimation  of  the  value  of 
a  human  being,  this  contempt  of  human  nature,  is  fatal  to 
human  improvement,  and  is  at  the  foundation  of  the  enor¬ 
mous  errors  of  statesmen,  and  the  gigantic  crimes  of 


92 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


warriors ;  that  they  could  not  squander  life  and  violate 
happiness  as  they  do,  did  they  judge  of  man  as  he  is  ;  that 
their  estimation  of  him  is  universally  acknowledged  to  have 
arisen  from  their  own  selfish  and  ill-regulated  passions  : 
but  that  to  view  him  as  the  Essay  on  Population  represents 
him,  is  to  render  him  valueless  in  the  eye  of  reason  itself ; 
to  make  philosophy  enter  into  an  alliance  with  tyranny 
against  him ;  to  snatch  from  science  the  shield  she  was 
wont  to  hold  over  him ;  and  to  cover  with  it  his  direst 
foes — error,  corruption,  and  oppression. 

But  it  may  well  be  questioned,  whether  on  a  sober  and 
thorough  consideration  of  the  subject,  there  will  appear  to 
be  any  truth  in  this  representation.  For  the  dignity  and 
worth  of  man  must  depend  upon  what  he  is,  and  it  is  not 
possible  that  any  opinion  respecting  the  rate  at  which  he 
multiplies  his  species,  can  affect  our  estimation  of  his 
nature,  his  faculties,  and  his  capacity  of  improvement,  for 
the  plain  reason  that  these  must  remain  just  the  same, 
whatever  that  rate  may  be. 

Because  man  is  endowed  with  the  facultv  6f  reason,  can 
foresee  the  consequences  of  his  actions,  and  regulate  his 
conduct  by  a  prudent  regard  to  his  well-being,  therefore 
it  is  in  his  power  to  derive  from  the  law  of  population, 
supposing  it  to  be  such  as  has  been  stated,  the  most  ex¬ 
cellent  advantages,  and  to  prevent  it  from  producing  any 
evil  whatever.  Suppose  the  principle  of  population  really 
is  what  Mr  Malthus  says  it  is,  capable,  in  no  long  time,  of 
peopling  all  the  stars,  and  that  if  it  had  gone  on  unchecked 
for  eighteen  hundred  years,  it  would  have  produced  men 
enough  to  fill  the  whole  visible  universe  with  human  crea¬ 
tures  as  thick  as  they  could  stand  ;*  how  easy  then  must 
it  be  to  people  this  vast  desert,  and  to  crowd  with  intelli¬ 
gent  and  happy  creatures  places  over  which  for  ages  have 
been  extended  the  line  of  desolation  and  the  stone  of 
emptiness  !  “  The  quantity  of  happiness  in  any  given 

district  so  far  depends  upon  the  number  of  inhabitants, 
that,  in  comparing  adjoining  periods  in  the  same  country, 
the  collective  happiness  will  be  nearly  in  the  exact  propor¬ 
tion  of  the  numbers  ;  consequently,  the  decay  of  population 
is  the  greatest  evil  that  a  state  can  suffer,  and  the  improve- 

*  Principles  of  Political  Economy,  p.  227. 


MULTIPLICATION  MUST  INCREASE  HAPPINESS. 


93 


ment  of  it  is  tlie  object  which  ought  in  all  countries  to  be 
aimed  at.  in  preference  to  every  other  political  purpose 
whatever.”  * 

Viewing  then  the  vast  proportion  of  the  habitable  globe 
which  is  at  present  without  an  inhabitant,  and  contemplat¬ 
ion  o-  the  immeasurable  increase  of  human  subsistence  which 
it  is  allowed  the  earth  mi  edit  be  made  to  yield,  I  should 
say,  with  the  able  opponent  of  Mr  Malthus,  “  How 
delightful  a  speculation  is  it  that  man  is  endowed  bv  all- 

O  1  ^  i' 

bountiful  ^Nature  with  an  unlimited  power  to  multiply  his 
species  !  I  would  look  out  upon  the  cheerless  and  melan¬ 
choly  world  which  at  present  is  but  a  great  desert,  and 
imagine  it  all  cultivated,  all  improved,  all  variegated,  with 
a  multitude  of  human  beings  in  a  state  of  illumination,  of 
innocence,  and  of  active  benevolence,  to  which  the  pro- 
guess  of  thought,  and  the  enlargement  of  mind,  seem 
naturallv  to  lead,  bevond  anvthing  that  has  yet  anywhere 
been  realized.  I  would  count  up  the  acres  and  the  square 
miles  of  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  consider  them  all  as 
the  estate  in  fee  simple  of  the  human  intellect.  I  would 
extend  mv  view  from  China  and  England,  countries  already 
moderately,  and  but  moderately  peopled,  to  the  plains  of 
Xorth  America,  of  South  America,  of  Africa,  of  many 
tracts  of  Asia,  of  the  Xorth  of  Europe,  of  Spain,  and 
various  other  divisions  of  the  prolific  world.  I  should 
contemplate  with  delight  the  extensive  emigrations  which 
have  taken  place  to  Xorth  America,  and  plan  and  chalk 
out,  as  far  as  my  capacity  and  endowments  of  study  would 
permit  me,  similar  emigrations  to  other  parts  of  the  world, 
that  should  finallv  make  the  whole  earth  at  least  as 

fj 

populous  as  China  is  at  present.”  t 

Under  a  wise  and  upright  administration  of  affairs,  the 
power  of  multiplication  in  man,  however  extensive,  might  be 
rendered  the  source  of  an  immeasurable  increase  of  happi¬ 
ness  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  and  wisdom  and 
integrity  might  prevent  for  ever  those  evil  consequences 
which  inevitablv  follow  when  that  administration  is  with- 
out  wisdom  and  integrity.  Those  consequences,  there¬ 
fore,  ought  in  all  justice  to  be  referred,  not  to  the  princi- 


*  Paley’s  Moral  and  Political  Philosophy,  hook  vi.  ch.  xi. 
t  Godwin  on  Population,  pp.  4d0,  4ol. 


94 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


pie  of  population,  but  to  tlie  institutions  of  society  :  *  tliey 
do  not  disprove  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Deity  in 
the  appointment  of  the  law;  but  they  show  the  folly  of 
man  in  the  neglect  of  his  true  interest :  the  law  itself  is 
beneficent,  because,  as  has  been  shown,  it  is  capable  of 
producing  an  immeasurable  increase  of  happiness,  and 
because  it  is  in  the  power  of  man  to  render  it  wholly  and 
for  ever  innoxious.  He  might  render  it  innoxious,  because 
he  can  obtain  the  mastery  over  the  grosser  impulses  of 
appetite,  and  give  to  the  higher  faculties  of  his  nature  the 
government.  By  a  wise  arrangement  of  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  is  placed  at  an  early  period,  and  trained  to 
maturity,  lie  might  be  made  to  see  his  own  interest  so 
clearly,  and  induced  to  pursue  it  so  steadily,  that  it  should 
not  be  possible  for  him  to  deviate  from  the  course  pre¬ 
scribed  bv  an  enlightened  regard  to  his  well-being.  This 
opinion  is  founded  on  the  universally-admitted  truth,  that 
man  is  what  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed  make 
him ;  and,  resting  my  hope  on  this  basis,  I  would  say, 
even  though  the  speculations  of  Mr  Malthus  possess  ab¬ 
solute  truth  and  certainty,  the  advancement  of  man  might 
nevertheless  be  as  glorious  as  philosophy  and  benevolence 
have  ever  dreamed,  and  for  their  efforts  to  promote  that 
advancement  there  will  still  be  the  greatest  reason  and  the 
best  encouragement. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  admitting  the  existence  of  the 
law  of  population,  its  appointment  is  not  inconsistent  with 

*  By  the  institutions  of  society  is  here  meant  not  merely  positive  laws,  but 
the  customs,  usages,  and  practical  spirit  which  grow  out  of  them.  No  direct 
institutions,  it  is  true,  can  provide  for  all  circumstances,  or  regulate  all  the 
passions  ;  hut  those  institutions  may  be  so  wisely  adapted  to  the  nature  of  man, 
as  to  insure  to  individuals  knowledge,  virtue,  and  happiness  :  and  with  know¬ 
ledge,  virtue,  and  happiness,  individuals  can  avert  evils  which  it  is  certainly  not 
in  the  power  of  any  government  to  prevent.  It  does  not  admit  of  question,  that 
were  the  government  of  this  country  to  expend  but  the  tithe  of  what  it  does 
expend  in  war  and  in  patronage,  upon  the  institution  and  support  of  the  wisest 
arrangements  that  might  be  devised,  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  the 
poor  (using  the  term  education  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense,  as  including 
not  merely  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  hut  of  industrious  and  virtuous  habits), 
were  government  sincerely  and  earnestly  to  endeavour  thus  to  put  into  active 
operation  all  the  knowledge,  philanthropy,  and  religion  which  would  he  de¬ 
lighted  to  aid  it  in  planning  and  executing  such  arrangements,  in  two  genera¬ 
tions  this  country  would  possess  a  peasantry  intelligent,  industrious,  virtuous, 
and  happy,  beyond  what  the  world  has  ever  yet  witnessed,  amongst  which  tne 
terrible  evils  that  prevail  at  present  and  have  so  long  prevailed,  could  not 
possibly  exist. 


THE  BALANCE  OF  GOOD  ALWAYS  MAINTAINED. 


tlie  Divine  benevolence.  This  must  be  obvious  from  what 
has  been  already  advanced.  The  law  of  population,  it  has 
been  clearly  proved,  is  capable  of  producing  an  immeasur¬ 
able  increase  of  happiness  :  it  has  been  shown  that  it  is  in 
the  power  of  man  to  prevent  it  from  occasioning  any  evil 
whatever;  any  evil  it  actually  produces,  therefore,  is  not 
chargeable  on  the  law,  and  cannot  possibly  bring  into 
question  the  wisdom  and-  goodness  of  Kim  who  ap¬ 
pointed  it. 

But  even  admitting  that  this  law  does  produce  some 
evil,  which  no  wisdom  can  prevent  and  no  exertions  miti¬ 
gate  ;  even  supposing  that  it  renders  man  in  some  respects 
a  less  noble  and  less  happy  creature  than  philosophy  and 
benevolence  have  sometimes  thought  him  (concessions  for 
which  it  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  show  the  neces- 

V 

sity),  even  in  this  case,  it  would  by  no  means  involve  the 
Divine  goodness  in  doubt, — because  man  might  be  a  less 
noble  and  happy  creature  than  he  has  been  judged  to  be, 
or  than  he  actually  is,  without  any  impeachment  of  the 
wisdom  and  benignity  of  his  Creator.  In  considerations 
of  this  sort,  we  can  never  too  often  recur  to  the  sound 
maxim,  that  of  no  condition,  in  which  there  is  upon  the 
whole  a  balance  of  enjoyment,  can  it  with  truth  be  said 
that  its  appointment  is  not  consistent  with  wisdom  and 
goodness.  Be  the  evils  which  would  result  from  the 
operation  of  this  law  great  as  any  one  can  imagine,  still 
every  human  being  might,  upon  the  whole,  the  whole  of 
his  existence  considered,  enjoy  more  than  he  suffers  :  nay, 
the  balance  of  enjoyment  even  in  the  present  state  might 
be  in  his  favour;  and  being  so,  no  creature  could  require 
more.  To  all  objections  to  this  system,  therefore,  upon 
the  mere  ground  of  its  inconsistency  with  the  Divine 
wisdom  and  goodness,  this  would  be  a  sufficient  answer : 
there  may  be  objections,  and  insuperable  objections,  to  it 
on  other  grounds,  but  on  this  alone  it  cannot  be  over¬ 
thrown. 

A  believer  in  this  theory  might  assume  higher  ground. 
He  might  contend  that  all  the  evils  which  actually  result 
from  such  a  constitution  of  man,  and  such  a  condition  of 
society  as  that  to  which  it  leads,  are  designed  by  the  Deity 
to  produce  ultimate  good,  and  that  a  preponderance  of 
good  is  the  actual  result  even  at  present.  If  an  inequality 


96 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


of  condition  be  a  state  the  most  conducive  to  human 
happiness,  because  in  this  state  the  faculties  of  man  are 
most  completely  developed,  and  his  virtues  most  perfectly 
formed  and  most  constantly  exercised,  then  the  principle 
of  population,  it  might  be  argued,  must  be  admitted  to  be 
hio'hly  beneficial,  since  it  is  the  chief  agent  bv  which  that 
inequality  is  rendered  certain  and  inevitable.  In  a  state 
of  society  in  which  every  maids  share  of  the  conveniences 
and  comforts  of  life  depends  upon  himself ;  in  which  he 
must  look  wholly  to  his  own  conduct  and  character  for  the 
acquisition  and  preservation  of  wealth,  and  honour,  and 
power,  and  fame ;  for  whatever  portion  he  obtains  of  the 
treasures  of  literature  and  science,  and  for  whatever  mea¬ 
sure  he  enjoys  of  that  refined  and  exalted  pleasure  which 
flows  from  an  intercourse  with  the  wise  and  good, — in  a 
state  of  society  so  constituted,  the  great  incentives  to 
human  action,  hope,  and  fear,  must  be  afforded  with  unfail¬ 
ing  strength  and  unceasing  constancy.  And,  accordingly, 
we  do  actually  see  that  to  this  hope  and  fear,  this  hope  of 
rising  and  this  fear  of  falling,  is  owing  all  that  activity  and 
enterprise,  all  that  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  exer¬ 
tion,  which  render  society  what  it  is,  and  which  give  us 
the  best  assurance  of  its  future  improvement.  And  the 
same  condition  of  society  must  of  necessity  produce  exactly 
that-  combination  of  circumstances  which  is  calculated,  in 
the  best  possible  manner,  to  form  and  to  prove  the  moral 
character  of  man.  In  this  view  the  principle  we  are  con¬ 
sidering  assumes,  in  the  opinion  of  its  advocates,  an 
importance  which  entitles  it  to  rank  with  almost  any 
ascertained  law  of  the  physical  or  moral  world.  It  is  the 
conclusion  of  all  sound  philosophy,  it  is  the  clear,  express, 
and  constantly  repeated  doctrine  of  revelation,  that-  the 
present  is  a  state  of  discipline  in  which  it  is  intended  by 
his  Creator  that  the  human  being  should  be  prepared  for 
a  higher  and  a  happier  state  of  existence.  To  fit  it  for 
this  purpose  the  present  state  must  contain  a  certain 
mixture  of  good  and  evil,  and  whether  good  or  evil  happen, 
in  general,  to  an  individual,  must  depend  upon  certain 
conditions,  blow  it  is  contended  bv  the  advocates  of  this 

V 

principle,  that  the  circumstances  in  which  it  must  of  neces¬ 
sity  place  every  moral  agent  are  precisely  those  which  are 
required  by  a  state  of  discipline  :  that-,  accordingly,  this 


HUMAN  CHARACTER  FORMED  BY  CIRCUMSTANCES. 


97 


great  law  of  liuman  nature  lias  every  appearance  of  having 
been  framed  with  a  reference  to  this  condition  of  the  human 
being  :  that,  in  the  first  place,  it  bears  upon  it  the  stamp 
and  character  of  a  law,  for  it  is  strong  and  general ;  and, 
in  the  second  place,  that,  in  the  whole  range  of  the  laws 
of  nature  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  there  is  not  one 
which  in  so  remarkable  a  manner  coincides  with  and  con¬ 
firms  this  Scriptural  view  of  the  state  of  man  on  earth ; 
because  there  is  not  one  which  so  admirably  secures  that 
combination  of  circumstances  out  of  which  must  ever  arise 
hope  and  fear,  love  and  hatred,  joy  and  sorrow,  wealth  and 
poverty,  weakness  and  power,  benignity  and  malevolence, 
all  the  affections  and  all  the  passions,  all  the  virtues  and 
ail  the  vices,  and  in  the  midst  of  which  the  character  must 
not  only  be  formed  but  proved. 

TVhetlier  this  be-  reallv  so,  must  be  left  to  the  individual 
judgment  of  enlightened  and  inquiring  men,  but  such  is 
the  view  which  is  exhibited  in  the  Essay  on  Population, 
and  this  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind.  Many  things  have 

o  ^  v  O 

been  said  both  of  that  Essay  and  of  its  author,  which  are 

V  ' 

neither  just  nor  candid.  Mr  Malthus  appears  to  have 
written  with  the  most  benevolent  intention,  and  it  is  diffi¬ 
cult  to  conceive  how  any  one  can  rise  from  the  perusal  of 

his  work  without  a  conviction  that  he  is  sincerely  and 

*/ 

deeply  anxious  to  lessen  the  prevalence  of  want  and  suffer¬ 
ing,  and  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  poor.*  It  is  most 
unjustifiable  to  represent  him  as  the  advocate  of  vice  and 
misery,  because  he  endeavours  to  show  that  vice  and 
misery  must  be  produced  by  the  operation  of  the  law  of 
population,  unless  these  consequences  are  prevented  by 
foresight  and  prudence.  He  mav  be  wrono-  in  assigning 
so  rapid  an  increase  to  the  human  species  as  he  does ;  he 
may  have  founded  his  law  of  population  on  circumstances 
insufficient  to  establish  it ;  but  still  the  main  object  of  his 
work,  that  which  he  keeps  constantly  in  view,  and  to  which 
he  incessantly  recurs,  is  to  point  out  how  the  pernicious 
consequences  of  this  rapid  increase,  how  the  vice  and 
misery  which  he  thinks  it  naturally  tends  to  produce,  may 
be  counteracted.  That  there  is  no  other  method  of  im- 

*  It  must  certainly  be  confessed,  it  is  a  great  defect  in  his  ■work  that  he  has 
scarcely  noticed,  certainly  that  he  has  not  more  dwelt  upon,  the  vice  and  misery 
produced  by  bad  institutions  and  bad  government. 


98 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


proving  the  condition  of  the  poor  than  that  of  rendering 
them  more  provident  and  more  independent;  that  the 
consequence  of  imprudence  must  he  indigence,  and  the 
consequence  of  indigence  vice  and  misery,  are  the  obvious 
truths  he  inculcates  ;  truths  which  no  one  can  doubt,  what¬ 
ever  be  his  opinions  respecting  the  rate  at  which  the  num¬ 
bers  of  mankind  increase  :  and  if  according1  to  the  geome- 
trical  ratio  these  consequences  follow  with  greater  certainty, 
and  to  a  greater  extent,  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  it  is  in 
the  power  of  prudence  and  foresight  to  prevent  them.  And 
if  it  be  in  the  power  of  prudence  and  foresight  to  prevent 
them,  that  is  all  which  is  essential  to  the  hope  of  the 
philanthropist  and  to  the  justification  of  the  appointment 
of  the  Creator. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  happiness  and  even  the 
existence  of  millions  of  human  beings  depend  upon  the 
ultimate  decision  of  this  controversy.  In  the  mean  time, 
no  one  can  form  a  just  opinion  concerning  it,  who  does  not 
study  it  with  a  calm  and  unprejudiced  mind.  It  is  the 
prevailing  opinion,  that  the  views  of  Mr  Malthus  are  hos¬ 
tile  to  the  best  exertions  of  benevolence,  and  involve  the 
dispensations  of  the  Deity  in  deep  and  inscrutable  dark¬ 
ness.  It  wa's  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  to  enter  some- 
what  into  this  subject  in  an  argument  on  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  the  Creator,  derived  from  the  constitution  of 
man  and  the  frame  of  societv.  And  it  is  no  small  satis- 
faction  to  perceive,  that,  be  the  law  of  population  what  it 
may,  the  benignity  of  the  Creator  in  the  appointment  of 
the  constitution  of  man,  of  his  capacity  for  improvement, 
and  of  the  possibility  of  securing  that  improvement  by 
the  melioration  of  his  condition,  and  the  removal  of  many 
of  the  evils  from  which  he  at  present  suffers,  remains  much 
the  same.  Indeed,  however  this  controversy  be  deter¬ 
mined,  the  great  interests  of  man  must  remain  the  same  : 
for,  to  advert  again  to  an  observation  already  made,  to 
what  after  all  does  the  difference  between  Mr  Malthus  and 
those  who  are  adverse  to  his  hypothesis  amount  ?  Mr 
Malthus  says,  that  under  circumstances  favourable  to  its 
increase,  population  goes  on  to  double  itself  every  twenty- 
five  years,  so  long  as  those  favourable  circumstances  con- 

v  '  cm 

tinue  :  but  he  distinctly  states,  that  these  circumstances 
have  never  in  any  age  or  country  actually  continued  but 


PEOGBESSIVE  IMPEOVEMENT  OP  MANKIND. 


99 


for  very  sliort  periods.  Mr  Godwin  says,,  that  in  Sweden 
(where  many  of  the  circumstances  favourable  to  a  rapid 
increase  obviously  do  not  exist)  population  has  doubled 
itself  in  the  space  of  one  hundred  years  ;  and  he  does  not 
appear  to  doubt  that  were  the  circumstances  which  have 
enabled  it  so  to  double  itself  to  continue,  it  would  go  on 
to  increase  at  this  rate.  The  one  then  affirms,  that,  under 
circumstances  exceedingly  favourable  to  population,  it  has 
doubled  itself  for  some  successive  periods  every  twenty- 
five  years  :  the  other,  that  under  circumstances  not  pecu¬ 


liarly  favourable  to  population,  it  has  only  doubled  itself 
in  the  course  of  one  hundred  years.  In  the  principle  that 
there  is  an  inherent  power  in  population  to  increase,  they 
are  agreed ;  the  difference  between  them  amounts  to  no 
more  than  this  :  the  one  affirms  that  population  naturally 

tends  to  increase  four  times  faster  than  the  other  savs  we 

_ 

have  any  proof  from  authentic  records  that  it  actually  has 
increased  for  any  considerable  period.  But  whichever 
opinion  future  investigation  may  establish,  the  difference 
surely  is  not  of  such  magnitude,  that  it  may  reasonably 
unsettle  our  convictions  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
the  Creator,  in  the  constitution  of  human  nature,  and 
change  our  conceptions  of  the  condition  in  which  man 
must  be  content  to  live  on  the  earth.  Whether  it  be  the 
law  of  his  nature  to  increase  with  the  slowness  for  which 
Mr  Godwin  contends,  or  with  four  times  the  rapidity,  as 
Mr  Malthus  maintains,  his  welfare  is  alike  provided  for ; 
his  most  important  interests  are  unaffected ;  his  faculties 
and  endowments  are  just  the  same,  and  it  must  be  in  the 
power  of  those  faculties  and  endowments  to  enable  him  to 
live  in  equal  competence  and  freedom,  with  equal  virtue 
and  happiness. 


In  whatever  manner  then  this  question  respecting  the 
principle  of  population  be  decided,  we  may  rest  with  equal 
trust  in  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Divine  appoint¬ 
ment,  and  anticipate  with  equal  confidence  the  future  ad¬ 


vancement  of  mankind.  And  when  we  consider  the  im¬ 
provements  which  have  lately  been  made  in  some  of  the. 
aids  that  essentially  conduce  to  the  comfort  of  life  ;  the  noble 
discoveries  of  science ;  the  unexampled  extension  of  educa¬ 
tion  ;  the  important  knowledge  which  by  its  means  is  dif¬ 
fused  and  is  rapidly  spreading  among  all  classes  of  the 


100 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


people,  the  enlightened  opinions  which  are  beginning  to 
prevail  on  those  subjects  which  most  deeply  affect  the 
present  and  the  future  happiness  of  mankind,  and  on 
which  the  most  inveterate  prejudices  and  the  most 
pernicious  errors  were  formerly  entertained;  the  daily 
increasing  advantages  connected  with  the  press,  that 
admirable  invention  by  which  the  improvements  and 
discoveries  of  an  individual  are  secured  to  the  whole  race 
and  to  all  ages ;  the  rapid  communication  which  is  main¬ 
tained  not  only  between  the  different  parts  of  the  same 
country,  but  between  all  the  nations  of  the  globe,  and  the 
increasing  measure  in  which  the  advantages  enjoyed  by 
one  are  shared  by  all;  in  a  word,  the  general  and  vast 
progress  which  society,  notwithstanding  its  remaining 
evils,  has  uncpiestionably  made,  it  is  impossible  not  to 
indulge  the  brightest  hopes  of  its  future  advancement,  and 
with  that  advancement  is  inseparably  connected  the  re¬ 
moval  of  many  of  the  evils  which  have  hitherto  prevailed 
in  the  social  state,  and  the  mitigation  of  all.  There  is 
especially  good  reason  to  believe,  that  as  it  advances  there 
will  be  a  progressive  improvement  in  the  spirit  in  which 
the  affairs  of  life  will  be  conducted ;  and  that  if  it  be  too 
much  to  hope  that  purely  disinterested  benevolence  will 
become  the  master-spring  of  society,  we  may  be  at  least 
assured  that  an  enlightened  self-love  will  be  the  governing 
principle  of  conduct.  Men  will  at  length  perceive  that  in 
pursuing  their  own  advantage,  they  must  promote  the 
w*elfare  of  their  fellow-beings;  that  the  selfishness  which 
seeks  its  own  gratification  at  the  expense  of  another’s  hap¬ 
piness,  must  defeat  itself ;  that  he  only  can  obtain  genuine 
success  in  the  struggle  of  life,  who  acts  on  the  principle 
that  it  is  an  interchange  of  kind  and  liberal  offices,  who 
scorns  to  rise  by  attempting  anotheffs  fall,  and  who  can 
taste  no  sweetness  in  the  bliss  which  is  purchased  by 
another’s  woe.  Each  will  still  labour  to  promote  his  own 
individual  advantage,  but  the  competitors  will  be  liberal 
and  enlightened,  and  the  contest  will  be  generous.  It  will 
be  philosopher  contending  with  philosopher,  patriot  with 
patriot,  and  philanthropist  with  philanthropist.  Without 
doubt  every  commercial,  political,  scientific,  and  literary 
pursuit  might  be  conducted  in  this  spirit :  for  distinguished 


MENTAL  ADVANCEMENT  OF  MANKIND. 


301 


individuals  in  each  of  these  honourable  professions  do 
actually  exemplify  this  spirit  even  at  present. 

And  were  the  powerful  offices  of  the  state  filled  by  such 
men,,  there  would  be  a  gradual  abolition  of  those  institu¬ 
tions  which  are  hostile  to  freedom  and  happiness  :  true 

liberty  would  flourish  :  no  ban  would  be  fixed  on  the  in- 
«/  #  # 

vestigation  of  any  subject  of  human  inquiry:  error  would 
not  be  allowed  to  lavish  on  its  advocates  the  highest 
emoluments  and  honours  of  the  state,  nor  truth  to  involve 
its  friends  in  disgrace  and  penury :  the  expression  of 
opinion  would  be  free  :  legislation  would  be  restricted  to 
conduct,  not  extended  to  opinion,  and  the  tendency  of 
every  penal  infliction  would  be  to  prevent  the  commission 
of  crimes,  and  to  reform  the  criminal ;  not  first  to  corrupt 
and  then  to  exterminate.  It  is  the  spirit  of  wisdom,  the 
spirit  of  patriotism,  and  the  spirit  of  benevolence,  which 
has  rendered  the  state  of  society  amongst  persons  of  liberal 
education  in  Great  Britain  so  immeasurably  superior  to 
that  amono-st  the  wretched  inhabitants  of  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  hope  that  the  same  spirit 
may  ultimately  gave  to  the  inhabitants  of  Britain  as  great 
a  superiority  over  their  present  condition  as  their  present 
condition  is  superior  to  that  of  the  savage. 

In  the  condition  of  the  poorer  class  especially,  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  effect  a  most  beneficial  change.  The  capital  evil 
under  which  they  suffer,  the  great  source  of  every  other, 
is  ignorance.  It  is  melancholy  to  reflect  on  the  profound¬ 
ness  of  that  ignorance.  Those  only  whom  philanthropy 
or  piety  has  induced  to  mix  with  them,  in  order  to  ascer¬ 
tain  their  state,  and  to  improve  it,  have  any  adequate  con¬ 
ception  of  its  extent.  These  benevolent  persons  know, 
and  these  alone  really  know,  that,  to  unexercised  minds 
the  whole  creation,  and  all  its  wonders  and  beauties,  are  a 
blank  ;  that  of  these  unhappy  people  it  is  literally  true, 
that  they  have  eves  but  they  see  not,  and  understanding* 
out  they  perceive  not :  that  the  most  magnificent  appear¬ 
ances  in  nature  produce  on  them  no  impression ;  that 
events  the  most  momentous,  affecting  for  ages  the  destiny 
of  their  whole  race,  excite  in  them  no  emotion;  that  sub¬ 
jects  the  most  important,  involving  their  own  highest  hap¬ 
piness  for  life  and  for  immortality,  create  in  them  no  in- 


102 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


terest ;  that  the  vacuity  of  their  minds  is  all  but  absolute ; 
that  this  absence  of  anything  that  approximates  to  an  in¬ 
tellectual  conception,  regards  alike  the  most  common  cir¬ 
cumstances  out  of  the  routine  of  their  ordinary  occupa¬ 
tions,  and  the  truths  which  it  concerns  them  most  to  know. 
Yet  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  minds  of  those  in 
the  lowest  station  might  be  awakened,  their  noblest 
faculties  developed,  and  their  highest  improvement  se¬ 
cured.  They  might  be  taught  the  value  of  the  mind  itself, 
and  the  importance  of  exercising  and  improving  it.  They 
might  be  taught  the  usefulness  of  knowledge,  by  being 
made  to  observe  some  of  its  most  striking  and  advantageous 
applications  to  the  purposes  of  life.  They  might  be  made 
acquainted  with  some  of  the  more  simple  laws  of  nature, 
and  with  the  true  explanation  of  many  of  the  phenomena 
depending  upon  them.  That  they  should  ever  be  able  to 
understand  the  mysteries  of  science,  or  to  comprehend  her 
more  profound  investigations,  it  were  vain  to  hope  ;  but 
from  the  ease  with  wTiich  very  young  and  unexpanded 
minds  understand  the  rudiments  of  science,  sufficiently  to 
comprehend  the  principles  on  which  many  of  the  phenomena 
of  nature  depend,  that  excite  our  daily  attention,  and, 
when  those  principles  are  understood,  our  daily  wonder 
and  admiration,  it  is  obviously  possible  to  convey  to  the 
lowest  of  the  people  much  of  this  knowledge,  and  thus  to 
enable  them  to  look  on  the  world  as  an  “  interpreted  and 
intelligible  volume,”  instead  of  a  total  blank,  and  to  un¬ 
derstand  the  true  order  and  beauty  of  nature,  instead  of 
acquiescing  in  the  most  contemptible  accounts  of  phenomena 
which  cannot  altogether  and  at  all  times  escape  their  no¬ 
tice.  With  the  principle  of  many  of  the  arts,  and  espe¬ 
cially  of  those  which  are  connected  with  their  own  calling, 
they  might  be  made  intimately  acquainted,  and  experience 
has  shown  that  their  information  might  be  extended,  with¬ 
out  disadvantage,  to  some  knowledge  of  geography,  of  the 
solar  system,  of  the  history  of  their  own  country,  and  of 
the  ancient  w~orld.-  With  the  fundamental  principles  of 
government,  and  the  fundamental  duties  of  governors  and 
of  the  governed  ;  with  the  essential  principles  of  political 
economy,  with  those  especially,  by  a  regard  to  wffiich  it  is 
indispensable  to  their  independence  and  comfort  that  they 
should  regulate  their  own  conduct,  they  might  be  made 


HUMAN  CAPABILITY  FOR  INSTRUCTION. 


103 


fully  acquainted.  Witli  the  great  doctrines  and  duties  of 
religion  ;  with  the  attributes,  dispensations,  and  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  Supreme  Being;  with  the  true  object  and  end 
of  the  present  life  ;  with  the  evidence  that  there  is  a  future 
state  of  reward  and  punishment ;  *  with  the  principal  his¬ 
torical  facts  which  establish  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  simplicity,  the  sublimity,  and  the 
purity  of  its  precepts  prove  its  divine  origin  ;  with  its  un¬ 
disputed  doctrines,  with  its  controverted  doctrines,  with 
the  chief  arguments  employed  to  establish  and  to  disprove 
each  ;  with  its  holy  precepts,  and  with  the  awful  responsi¬ 
bility  which  so  much  light;  and  such  inestimable  advantages 
attach  to  every  reasonable  creature, — with  all  this,  every 
individual  in  the  lowest  class  of  society  might  be  made 
perfectly  familiar.  Is  it  possible  to  doubt  that  so  much 
instruction  might  be  communicated  ?  Say  that  the  distri¬ 
bution  of  labour  shall  remain  for  ever  the  same  as  it  is  at 
present,  and  the  time  devoted  to  it  the  same  (which  can¬ 
not  be),  still  let  it  be  considered  what  might  be  done  in 
the  years  of  childhood,  during  the  period  of  youth,  in  the 
hours  of  the  Sunday,  and  how  much  persons  instructed  to 
a  certain  extent  may  be  fairly  supposed  capable  of  im¬ 
proving  themselves  in  those  hours  of  leisure  which  come 
to  all.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  all  which  is  here 
anticipated  might  be  accomplished,  even  by  individual 
exertion  :  but  if  the  efforts  of  individuals  were  to  receive 
that  aid  which  they  ought  to  receive ;  if  that  national 
energy  which  has  been  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  a 
criminal  ambition  were  directed  to  the  improvement  of 
the  intellectual  and  moral  condition  of  the  people — what 
might  not  be  effected  ? 

“  If  a  contemplative  and  religious  man,  looking  back 
through  one  or  two  centuries,  were  enabled  to  take,  with 
an  adequate  comprehension  of  intellect,  the  sum  and  value 
of  so  much  of  the  astonishing  course  of  the  national  ex¬ 
ertions  of  this  country,  as  the  Supreme  Judge  has  put  to 
the  criminal  account  of  pride  and  ambition ;  and  if  he 
could  then  place  in  contrast  to  the  transactions  on  which 
that  mighty  amount  has  been  expended  a  sober  estimate 
of  what  so  much  exerted  vigour  might  have  accomplished 


*  See  p.  137,  et  scq.,  for  definition  of  punishment. 


104 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


for  the  intellectual  and  moral  exaltation  of  the  people,  it 
could  not  be  without  an  emotion  of  horror  that  he  would 
say,  Who  is  to  be  accountable,  who  has  been  accountable 
for  this  difference  ?  ”  * 

There  cannot  be  in  the  Christian  world  any  such  thing 
as  a  nation  habitually  absolved  from  the  duty  of  raising  its 
people  from  ignorance  in  consideration  of  a  necessity  of 
expending  its  vigour  in  foreign  enterprise.  The  concern 
of  redeeming  the  people  from  a  degraded  condition  is  a 
duty,  at  all  events,  and  to  an  entire  certainty;  a  duty  im¬ 
perative  and  absolute ;  but  whether  rulers  and  the  ascend¬ 
ant  classes  will  co-operate  or  not,  individuals  must  perse¬ 
vere.  And,  at  least,  for  ages  to  come,  it  is  to  individual 
exertion  we  must  look  for  everything  that  is  effectual  in 
the  promotion  of  this  great  work. 

And  let  the  promoters  of  education  never  forget,  that  in 
every  school  they  establish  they  oblige  a  multitude  of 
youthful  spirits  to  direct  their  attention  to  something 
foreign  to  their  wild  amusements  ;  that  they  force  them  to 
make  a  protracted,  and,  in  many  instances,  a  successful 
effort  to  think;  that  they  enable  them  to  acquire  a  com¬ 
mand  over  what  is  invisible  and  immaterial ;  to  rise  from 
the  mere  animal  state  to  tread  in  the  precincts  of  an  intel¬ 
lectual  economy,  the  economy  of  thought  and  truth,  in 
which  they  are  to  live  for  ever.  Let  them  remember,  that 
a  number  of  ideas,  decidedly  the  most  important  that  were 
ever  formed  in  human  thought,  or  imparted  from  the 
Supreme  Mind,  will  be  so  taught  in  these  institutions, 
that  it  is  absolutely  certain  they  will  be  fixed  irrevocably 
and  for  ever  on  the  minds  of  many  of  the  pupils  :  that  it 
will  be  as  impossible  to  erase  them  from  their  memory  as 
to  extinguish  the  stars ;  and  in  the  case  of  many,  perhaps 
the  majority  of  these  youthful  beings,  advancing  into  the 
temptations  of  life,  these  grand  ideas  thus  fixed  deep  in 
their  souls,  will  distinctly  present  themselves  to  judgment 
and  conscience  an  incalculable  number  of  times.  And 
what  a  number,  if  the  sum  of  all  these  reminiscences,  in  all 
the  minds  now  assembled  in  a  numerous  school,  could  be 
conjectured  !  But  if  one  in  a  hundred  of  these  recollec¬ 
tions,  if  one  in  a  thousand  shall  have  the  efficacy  that  it 


*  Foster  s  Evils  of  Popular  Ignorance. 


WORST  EVILS  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE  REMOVABLE.  105 


ought  to  have,  who  can  compute  the  amount  of  the  good 
resulting:  from  the  instruction  which  shall  have  so  en- 
forced  and  fixed  these  ideas,  that  they  shall  infallibly  be 
thus  recollected  ?  33  *  And  when  these  institutions  shall 
have  become  universal,  and  they  will  become  universal, 
they  will  operate  in  the  intellectual,  the  moral,  and  the 
political  condition  of  the  people,  a  great  and  glorious 
change ;  the  prospect  of  which,  while  it  may  well  en¬ 
courage  the  man  of  benevolence  to  devote  his  best  powers 
and  his  best  days  to  secure  and  hasten  it,  must  satisfy  him 
that  it  is  in  man’s  own  power,  by  wise  and  virtuous  con¬ 
duct,  totally  to  remove  the  worst  evils  of  the  social  state, 
and  so  to  mitigate  those  which  cannot  be  removed,  as  to 
render  them  light  and  inconsiderable. 

When,  then,  a  comprehensive  view  is  taken  of  the  pro¬ 
vision  which  the  Creator  has  made  for  human  happiness  ; 
when  it  is  considered,  that  in  innumerable  instances  pleasure 
is  annexed  to  the  performance  of  the  animal  and  vital 
functions,  and  the  exercise  of  the  mental  and  moral  facul¬ 
ties,  when  no  other  reason  can  be  assigned  for  it  but  the 
pure  benevolence  of  Him  in  whom  we  live,  and  move,  and 
have  our  being  :  that  the  ordinary  state  of  mankind  is  a 
state  not  of  ease  only,  but  of  positive  enjoyment,  and  that 
the  season  of  pain  and  suffering  is  extraordinary,  coming 
comparatively  seldom,  and  lasting  comparatively  but  a 
short  period;  that  the  natural  and  moral  evils  which  pre¬ 
vail,  though  in  themselves  oftentimes  great  and  terrible, 
are  parts  of  the  plan  designed  to  form  the  character  and  to 
perfect  the  happiness  of  man ;  that  the  evils  of  the  social 
state  especially,  though  sometimes  extremely  calamitous, 
are,  upon  the  whole,  much  less  considerable  than  they 
appear,  are  accompanied  with  many  mitigations,  become 
less  and  less  with  every  improvement  which  man  works 
out  for  himself,  and  in  the  mean  time  accomplish  some 
most  useful  purposes, — when  these  considerations  are  fully 
weighed,  they  will  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  mind  that 
these  evils  are  parts  of  a  great  whole,  conspiring,  under 
the  direction  of  unerring  wisdom,  to  the  production  of  con¬ 
summate  happiness.  Many  things  will  still,  indeed,  remain 
a  mystery  to  us  ;  many  things  in  nature,  many  things  in 
Providence,  many  events  disastrous  to  communities,  many 

*  Evils  of  Ignorance. 


106 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


calamities  befalling  individuals.  Of  these  we  shall  never 
be  able  to  obtain  a  thorough  comprehension  in  the  present 
state,  for  the  reason  so  often  and  so  justly  assigned,  that  in 
the  present  state  we  see  only  a  part  of  the  plan,  and  that, 
therefore,  we  cannot  possibly  have  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  whole. 

The  vast  plan  of  Providence,  indeed,  would  not  be  what 
it  is,  would  not  be  calculated  for  millions  of  creatures  and 
for  eternity,  if  it  presented  no  mysteries  to  us;  if  with 
our  present  faculties,  and  in  our  present  situation,  we  could 
comprehend  the  whole  of  it.  That  pain,  therefore,  in  its 
various  forms,  is  made  the  active  and  extensive  agent  that 
it  is  in  carrying  on  the  great  scheme  ;  that  it  falls  with 
such  fearful  severity  on  some  devoted  communities,  on 
some  wretched  individuals  ;  that  it  is  sometimes  the  con¬ 
sequence  of  events  which  no  wisdom  can  foresee  nor  pre¬ 
vent,  and  sometimes  of  diseases  which  no  skill  can  guard 
against  nor  mitigate  :  that  this  should  be  totally  beyond 
our  present  comprehension,  is  no  more  than  must  of 
necessity  be,  we  being  what  we  are,  and  the  universe  what 
it  is.  That  it  is  adopted  for  wise  and  good  reasons  is  an 
unavoidable  inference  from  what  we  know  of  the  benignity 
of  the  Creator;  that  in  many  instances  it  promotes  our 
happiness,  we  actually  experience,  since  it  is  often  the 
monitor  of  danger,  the  corrector  of  error,  the  punisher  of 
vice,  the  incentive  to  exertions  which  issue  in  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  immeasurable  and  exquisite  pleasures.  That  it  does 
not  indicate  the  imperfection  of  the  benevolence  of  Him 
who  appointed  it  is  certain.  For,  let  it  even  be  supposed 
that  there  really  is  in  its  appointment  an  apparent  want  of 
benevolence ;  of  this  apparent  want  of  benevolence  two 
accounts  may  be  given  :  it  may  arise  either  from  the 
reality  of  the  appearance,  or  from  the  ignorance,  the 
confined  views,  and  the  disadvantageous  situation  of  the 
observer  for  perceiving  the  whole  plan  of  the  Great  Agent. 
“  It  may  be  owing  either  to  an  actual  want  of  goodness,  or 
to  the  infinity  and  unfathomableness  of  it.  The  first  of 
these  accounts  contradicts  numberless  phenomena  of  na¬ 
ture,  is  inconsistent  with  the  perfection  apparent  in  the 
general  frame  of  the  world,  and  opposes  our  most  reason¬ 
able  apprehensions  concerning  the  nature  and  attributes  of 
the  First  Cause.  The  latter  account  is  in  the  highest 


RESULTS  PROVE  THE  GOODNESS  OF  THE  DEITY. 


107 


degree  easy,  natural,  and  obvious.  It  is  suggested  to  us 
by  what  we  have  experienced  in  similar  instances,  and 
agreeable  to  what,  from  the  reason  of  the  thing,  we  might 
have  foreseen  must  have  happened  to  such  creatures  as  we 
are,  in  considering  such  a  scheme  as  that  of  nature.  Can 
we  then  doubt  to  which  of  these  accounts  we  shall  give  the 
preference  ?  Is  it  reasonable  to  suffer  our  conviction  of  a 
fact,  for  which  we  have  good  evidence,  to  be  influenced  by 
appearances  which  may  as  well  be  consistent  as  inconsistent 
with  it ;  nay,  by  appearances  which,  on  the  supposition  of 
its  truth,  we  must  beforehand  have  expected  ?  ;;  * 

Let  us,  then,  observe  the  exact  state  of  the  case.  It  can 
be  Droved  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner  that  the  Deity 

X  v  v 

is  good,  because  it  can  be  proved  that  he  has  imparted 
pleasure  where  it  can  answer  no  other  purpose  than  that  of 
promoting  the  happiness  of  its  recipient ;  that  he  has 
therefore  rested  in  the  production  of  happiness  as  an 
ultimate  object.  One  such  case  is  a  demonstration  of  his 
goodness.  On  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  be  proved  that 
pain  is  ever  occasioned  where  no  purpose  is  answered  by  it 
but  the  misery  of  the  sufferer.  Hot  a  single  example  can 
be  found  in  all  nature  from  which  it  can  be  concluded  that 
pain  is  rested  in  as  an  ultimate  object;  f  while  numberless 
instances  can  be  adduced,  from  which  it  can  be  demonstrated 
that  it  is  the  means  of  producing  good  :  t  the  utmost  which 
can  be  said  on  the  opposite  side  is,  that  there  are  particu¬ 
lar  cases  of  such  a  nature,  that  we  cannot  explain  how  they 
will  terminate  in  good :  even  with  respect  to  these,  no  one 

can  show  that  they  will  end  in  evil,  no  one  can  render  it 

*/  * 

probable ;  but  the  probability  produced  by  all  which  we 
really  kuow  is  altogether  against  the  conclusion.  Although 
we  are  ignorant  of  the  exact  means  by  which  in  these 
cases  good  is  promoted,  yet  we  are  equally  ignorant  of  the 
exact  means  bv  which  a  thousand  other  things  are  brought 
to  pass,  which  we  are  certain  happen  :  and  at  all  events  our 
ignorance  of  what  we  do  not  know  cannot  bring  doubt 
upon  what  we  do  know;  nor  can  we,  without  manifest 

*  Four  Dissertations,  &:c.  By  Bichard  Price,  D.D.,  F.Pv,.S.,  p.  10-5. 

t  “No  anatomist  ever  discovered  a  system  of  organization  calculated  to  produce 
pain  and  disease  :  or,  in  explaining  the  parts  of  the  human  body,  ever  said, 
‘  This  is  to  irritate,  this  to  intiame.’  ”  Paley’s  Natural  Theology,  p.  502. 

j  See  Note  A  in  Appendix. 


108 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


absurdity,  conclude  tliat  the  Deity  is  not  good,  merely 
because  we  are  ignorant  of  the  mode  in  which,,  in  particular 
cases,  he  chooses  to  accomplish  the  purposes  of  benevolence. 
Belief  is  founded  upon  evidence,  not  upon  ignorance  ;  but 
the  notion  that  the  Deity  is  not  perfectly  good,  is  founded 
altogether  upon  our  ignorance.  Evidence  is  completely 
against  it;  evidence  is  wholly  in  favour  of  his  perfect 
benignity  ;  evidence  amounting'  to  absolute  demonstration. 

Thus  we  have  entered  into  a  particular  consideration  of 
the  various  classes  of  evil.  We  have  seen  that  the  ap¬ 
pointment  of  it  is  consistent  with  infinite  wisdom  and 
goodness  ;  that  while  its  actual  amount  is  by  no  means  so 
great  as  is  commonly  supposed,  in  every  instance  in  which 
it  does  prevail,  it  produces  a  preponderance  of  good,  and 
that  it  exists  only  for  the  sake  of  that  greater  good  which 
it  is  the  means  of  securing.  We  have  seen,  then,  that  the 
positive  proof  of  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator  is  absolutely 
irresistible,  and  that  the  partial  and  temporary  prevalence 
of  evil,  which  alone  can  involve  in  doubt  the  perfection  of 
his  goodness,  is  not  onlv  not  irreconcilable  with  it,  but  is 
as  real  an  evidence  of  it  as  the  appointment  of  the  sweetest 
pleasures  of  which  he  has  permitted  the  heart  to  taste. 
The  human  faculties  cannot  be  better  employed  than  in 
investigating  such  subjects  ;  and,  perhaps,  the  review  of 
them  that  has  now  been  taken,  may  tend  to  remove  some 
doubts  which  may  sometimes  have  perplexed  and  disturbed 
the  mind,  and  to  render  its  conviction  of  the  most  glorious 
and  cheering  of  all  truths  more  complete,  more  impressive, 
and  more  stable. 


PART  II. 

CHAPTER  I.— Section  IV. 

OF  THE  DESIGN  OF  GOD  IN  THE  CREATION. 

» 

Suppose  then  the  Deity  really  possesses  the  attributes 
which  we  have  endeavoured  to  show  must  belong  to  him ; 
suppose  that  he  is  self-existent,  independent,  infinitely 


DESIGN  OF  GOD  IN  THE  CREATION. 


109 


powerful,  wise,  and  good,  and  that  he  determines  to  call 
into  existence  millions  of  beings,  endowed  with  such  a 
capacity  of  happiness,  and  furnished  with  such  faculties,  as 
distinguish  man.  What  could  induce  in  him  such  a  de- 
termination  ?  By  the  supposition,  he  is  infinitely  powerful, 
wise,  and  good  :  he  must,  therefore,  be  infinitely  happy, 
because  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  must  render 
him  self-sufficient ;  must  supply  him,  that  is,  with  all  the 
means  of  happiness,  whatever  they  may  be,  and  at  the 
same  time  exclude  everything  which  is  incompatible  with 
perfect  felicity. 

Being,  then,  infinitely  powerful,  wise,  good,  and  happy, 
the  inouiry  recurs,  What  could  determine  him  to  call  into 

At/  J 

existence  a  world  of  sentient  and  reasonable  creatures  ? 
Could  it  be  weakness  ?  That  is  impossible ;  for  by  the 
supposition,  he  is  .infinitely  wise,  and  therefore  must  act 
not  only  with  some  design,  but  with  wise  design.  Could 
it  be  to  occasion  misery  ?  That  also  is  impossible  :  for 
to  suppose  that  a  Being  who  is  infinitely  wise,  good,  and 
happy,  can  purpose  the  production  of  misery  for  its  own 
sake,  is  a  contradiction.  What  then  could  he  design  ?  It 
is  impossible  to  suppose  that  he  could  have  any  other  ob¬ 
ject  in  view  than  the  bestowment  of  happiness ;  the  com¬ 
munication  to  the  creatures  his  wisdom  might  form, 
according  to  the  capacities  with  which  that  wisdom  might 
endow  them,  of  a  portion  of  his  own  felicity. 

The  happiness  of  his  sentient  and  reasonable  creatures, 
then,  must  be  Code's  ultimate  end  in  the  creation.  It  is 
true,  he  is  sometimes  said  to  have  executed  this  wonderful 
work  in  order  to  display  his  own  glory  :  but  the  display  of 
his  glory  and  the  happiness  of  his  creatures  are  identical. 

For  the  reason  already  assigned,  he  cannot  have  been 
induced  to  give  existence  to  the  vast  universe  in  order  to 
satisfy  any  want  in  himself,  or  to  add  anything  to  his  own 
happiness ;  because,  being  self-sufficient  he  could  have  no 
want,  and  must  always  have  been  in  himself  completely 
happy.  Nor  is  it  possible  that  the  creation  should  impart 
to  him  anything  which  he  did  not  originally  possess  ;  for  all 
that  it  is,  he  made  it,  and  all  that  it  has,  he  gave  it  :  all 
the  beauty,  excellence,  and  happiness,  with  which  it  is 
adorned,  and  in  which  it  rejoices,  it  derives  entirely  from 
him  :  it  cannot  therefore  communicate  to  him  anything 

y  v  O 


110 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


which  it  did  not  receive  from  him.  But  without  creation 
his  attributes  could  have  had  no  exercise  ;  his  wisdom 
could  have  been  exerted  in  no  wise  contrivance ;  his  power 
in  producing  no  magnificent  works ;  his  goodness  in  com¬ 
municating  no  happiness.  There  is  in  him  transcendent 
beauty,  inexhaustible  excellence,  immeasurable  happiness. 
Of  these,  much  is  capable  of  communication.  By  giving 
being  to  sentient  and  intelligent  creatures,  he  saw  that  he 
could  impart  without  limit,  that  he  could  diffuse  without 
measure,  various  degrees  of  these  glorious  perfections.  A 
disposition  thus  to  communicate  himself  is  an  original  at¬ 
tribute  of  his  nature ;  and  being  so,  it  is  not  more  certain 
that  he  exists,  than  that  he  has  communicated  as  high 
degrees  of  his  perfections  as  are  communicable,  to  as  great 
a  number  of  creatures  as  is  possible,  and  that  he  has 
communicated  them  because  they  are  good,  that  is,  because 
they  are  happiness.  It  follows,  that  the  purpose  for  which 
he  gave  being  to  intelligent  creatures,  was,  that  he  might 
communicate  to  them  his  own  happiness. 

Still  he  is  sometimes  said  to  have  created  the  world  for 
his  own  glory,  or  for  his  own  sake,  or  to  have  made  him¬ 
self  the  ultimate  object  of  his  creation,  and  it  is  very  im¬ 
portant  to  observe  what  is  really  meant  by  this  language. 
Strictly  speaking,  there  is  no  excellence  imparted  to  the 
creature  which  is  not  a  portion  of  his  own  perfection ;  for 
this  reason  some  persons  choose  to  say,  that  he  engaged  in 
the  work  of  creation  out  of  a  regard  to  that  perfection; 
since  it  was  the  determination  to  diffuse  that  perfection 
which  induced  him  to  give  existence  to  the  creature,  the 
creature  without  that  perfection  being  nothing.  Thus 
they  say,  that  the  highest  gifts  of  existence  are  knowledge, 
virtue,  and  happiness,  but  that  the  knowledge  communi¬ 
cated  is  a  portion  of  God's  own  infinite  knowledge  ;  that 
it  is  the  same  in  nature,  though  infinitely  less  in  degree, 
and  that  it  consists  primarily  in  a  knowledge  of  himself,  in 
a  knowledge  of  his  attributes  as  displayed  in  his  works. 
That  the  same  is  true  of  virtue ;  that  the  virtue  of  the 
creature,  in  the  degree  in  which  it  is  real,  is  a  participation 
of  God's  own  moral  excellence  ;  that  it  consists  in  benevo¬ 
lence,  in  love  to  being  in  general,  and  therefore  primarily 
in  love  to  God,  who  comprehends  in  himself  all  being  :  con¬ 
sequently,  that  God's  own  love  of  virtue  is  a  love  of  him- 


GOlfs  LOVE  OE  HIMSELF  IS  LOVE  TO  HIS  CEEATUEES.  Ill 


self  ;  tliat  is,  a  love  of  liis  own  excellence ;  because  in 
strictness  tliere  is  no  excellence  in  any  creature,  nothing 
which  any  intelligent  being  can  love,  that  is  not  his ; 
that  is  not  derived  from  him,  and  in  a  manner  a  part  of 
him  ;  so  that  in  loving  excellence  he  must  love  himself. 
In  like  manner  that  God’s  happiness  consists  in  the  exer¬ 
cise  and  eniovment  of  his  own  attributes  :  that  the  crea- 
ture’s  happiness,  in  the  highest  sense,  consists  in  the  same; 
in  the  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  attributes  the  same  in 
nature,  however  different  in  degree,  and  with  whatever 
imperfections  mixed:  in  the  exercise  and  enjoyment,  for 
example,  of  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  :  that,  therefore, 
inasmuch  as  there  is  no  true  excellence  or  happiness  in  the 
creature  which  was  not  primarily  in  God,  and  which  was 
not  communicated  from  God,  God  must  have  had  in  the 
creation  a  supreme  regard  to  himself,  that  is,  to  the  com¬ 
munication  of  his  own  excellence  and  happiness ;  and  have 
been  influenced  by  a  love  of  himself,  that  is,  a  love  of  his 
own  excellence  and  happiness. 

Xow  admitting  this  representation  to  be  just,  still, 
according  to  it,  the  love  of  himself  and  the  love  of  the 
creature  are  so  far  from  being  different  or  opposite,  that 
thev  are  the  very  same  :  his  love  of  the  creature  is  the 
love  of  himself,  and  his  love  of  himself  is  the  love  of  the 
creature. 

There  are  persons  who  think  that  this  view  is  highly 
calculated  to  elevate  the  mind  to  God,  to  lead  it  to  attri¬ 
bute  to  him  all  that  it  is,  and  has,  and  hopes  ;  to  consider 
him  as  the  only  source  of  being  and  of  beauty,  of  excellence 
and  of  happiness ;  to  annihilate  self  and  every  object 
except  the  all-pervading,  all-comprehending  Author  of  the 
universe  ;  to  see  him  in  everything,  and  everything  in  him; 
in  the  truest  sense  to  render  God  the  great  all  in  all,  since 
in  the  most  real  sense  it  makes  God  the  fountain  of  all. 
For,  according  to  this  view,  “all  the  excellence  of  the 
creature  is  God’s :  the  knowledge  communicated  is  the 
knowledge  of  God,  and  the  love  communicated  is  the  love 
of  God,  and  the  happiness  communicated  is  joy  in  God. 
So  that  in  the  creature’s  knowing,  esteeming,  loving, 
rejoicing  in,  and  praising  God,  the  glory  of  God  is  both 
exhibited  and  acknowledged  :  his  fulness  is  received  and 
returned.  Here  is  both  an  emanation  and  remanation. 


112 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


The  refulgence  sliines  upon  and  into  the  creature,  and  is 
reflected  back  to  the  luminary.  The  beams  of  glory  come 
from  God,  are  something  of  God,  and  are  refunded  back 
again  to  their  original.  So  that  the  whole  is  of  God,  and 
in  God,  and  to  God,  and  he  is  the  beginning,  and  the 
middle,  and  the  end.”* 

Those  who  feel  their  conceptions  of  the  Great  Author  of 
all  things,  the  only  proper  agent  in  the  universe,  the  first 
cause  and  the  last  end  of  his  creatures,  elevated  by  this 
manner  of  viewing  this  important  subject,  cannot  be  wrong 
in  indulging  it :  but  it  requires  considerable  comprehen¬ 
siveness  of  mind,  and  some  power  of  abstract  reasoning’, 
and  of  carrying  the  thoughts  above  the  imperfection  and 
obscurity  of  language.  For  in  the  language  commonly 
employed  on  this  subject,  there  is  much  that  is  calculated 
to  mislead  those  who  are  not  accustomed  to  clear  thinking 
and  close  reasoning.  It  is  important  then  to  bear  in  mind 
that  all  which  is  really  meant  is  here  stated.  For,  God's 
creation  of  the  world  for  his  own  glory  does  not  signify 
that  he  created  it  in  order  to  render  himself  more  glorious, 
that  being  impossible,  but  to  display  the  glory  of  his  attri¬ 
butes  to  creatures  capable  of  understanding  it,  and  of 
participating  of  it :  and  thus  not  only  to  make  it  known 
to  myriads  of  admiring*  and  adoring*  intelligences,  but  to 
communicate  it  to  them.  Hence  he  gives  existence  to 
rational  beings,  in  order  to  render  them  glorious,  by  im¬ 
parting*  to  them  his  own  glory,  and  he  is  said  to  do  this 
out  of  a  regard  to  his  own  glory,  only  because  it  is  the 
communication  of  his  own  excellence  that  renders  them 
glorious.  They  are  glorious  because  they  partake  of  the 
Creator's  glory :  the  Creator  gave  them  being  for  the 
purpose  of  communicating  to  them  that  glory  :  that  glory 
consists  in  a  participation  of  his  own  excellence,  and  there¬ 
fore  it  is  argued,  strictly  speaking,  he  gave  them  existence 
from  a  love  of  his  own  glory. f  Whatever  truth  there  may 

*  Edwards’  Dissertation  concerning  tlie  End  for  which  God  created  the 
TVorld,  ch.  ii.  sect.  vii. 

f  “  God  seeking  himself  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  in  the  manner  which 
has  been  supposed,  is  so  far  from  being  inconsistent  with  the  good  of  his  crea¬ 
tures,  that,  it  is  a  kind  of  regard  to  himself  that  inclines  him  to  seek  the  good 
of  his  creatures.  It  is  a  regard  to  himself  that  disposes  him  to  diffuse  and  com- 


GOD  HIMSELF  EXCELLENCE  AND  HAPPINESS. 


113 


be  in  this  representation,  it  is  in  fact  only  another  method 
of  saying  that  he  is  himself  excellence  and  happiness ; 
that  being  so,  he  diffuses  excellence  and  happiness,  and 
that  he  diffuses  them  because  he  loves  them.  These 
views,  properly  understood,  seem  to  lead  to  no  other  than 
just  conceptions  of  the  Supreme  Being  :  but  they  are  too 
refined  to  be  in  general  accurately  conceived  and  followed  : 
the  language  commonly  employed  to  express  them  is  apt 
to  confuse  and  mislead  :  as  far  as  they  are  intelligible  and 
clear,  they  coincide  entirely  with  the  more  usual  opinion, 
that  Goffs  ultimate  end  in  the  creation  is  the  happiness  of 
his  creatures.  This  last  proposition  is  universally  intel¬ 
ligible,  and  cannot  be  misunderstood :  it  is  therefore  the 
better  mode  of  speaking.  It  is  then  a  truth  as  obvious  as 
it  is  delightful,  that  the  design  of  the  Creator  must  have 
been  the  communication  of  happiness,  and  that  nothing 
can  possibly  more  effectually  display  the  glory  of  a  being 
who  is  infinitely  wise,  powerful,  and  good,  than  to  contrive 
and  effect  the  happiness  of  rational  creatures. 

municate  himself.  It  is  such  a  delight  in  his  own  internal  fulness  *  and 
glory,  that  disposes  him  to  an  abundant  effusion  and  emanation  of  that  glory. 
The  same  disposition  that  inclines  him  to  delight  in  his  glory,  causes  him  to 
delight  in  the  exhibitions,  expressions,  and  communications  of  it. 

“  In  God,  the  love  of  himself  and  the  love  of  the  public  are  not  to  he  dis¬ 
tinguished  as  in  man,  because  God’s  being,  as  it  were,  comprehends  all.  His 
existence  being  infinite,  must  be  equivalent  to  universal  existence.  And  for 
the  same  reason  that  public  affection  in  the  creature  is  fit  and  beautiful, 
God’s  regard  to  himself  must  be  so  likewise.  In  God  the  love  of  what  is  fit 
cannot  be  a  distinct  thing  from  the  love  of  himself,  because  the  love  of  God  is 
that  wherein  all  holiness  primarily  and  chiefly  consists,  and  God’s  own  holiness 
must  primarily  consist  in  the  love  of  himself. 

“  Love  to  virtue  itself  is  no  otherwise  virtuous,  than  as  it  is  implied  in,  or 
arises  from,  love  to  the  Divine  Being.  Consequently,  God’s  own  love  to  virtue 
is  implied  in  love  to  himself,  and  is  virtuous  no  otherwise  than  as  it  arises  from 
love  to  himself.  Consequently,  whensoever  he  makes  virtue  his  end,  he  makes 
himself  his  end.  In  fine,  God  being  as  it  were  an  all-comprehending  Being, 
all  his  moral  perfections,  his  holiness,  justice,  grace,  and  benevolence,  are  some 
way  or  other  to  be  rendered  into  a  supreme  and  infinite  regard  to  himself ;  and 
if  so,  it  will  be  easy  to  suppose  that  it  becomes  him  to  make  himself  his  supreme 
and  last  end  in  his  works,” — Edwards’  Dissertation  concerning  the  End  for 
which  God  created  the  "World,  ch.  i.  sect.  iv. 


*  In  the  above  phrase,  God’s  fulness,  is  comprehended  all  the  good  which  is 
in  God,  natural  and  moral,  either  excellence  or  happiness.  Edwards’  Disserta¬ 
tion,  Ac.,  ch.  i.  sect.  ii. 


8 


114 


PART  II. 

CHAPTER  I. — Section  Y. 

OP  THE  UNIVERSALITY  OP  THE  DIVINE  BENEVOLENCE. 

For  tlie  same  reason  that  the  Deity  designed  to  make 
one  human  being  happy,  he  must  have  purposed  to  bestow 
felicity  ultimately  upon  all.  For  if  there  be  a  single  indi¬ 
vidual  whom  he  created  without  this  design,  since  he  must 
still  have  had  some  design,  it  must  be  different  from  that 
which  we  have  already  shown  to  be  the  only  one  which  he 
could  have  had  in  view. 

In  reality,  his  purpose  with  respect  to  every  individual 
must  have  been  either  to  make  him  happy  or  miserable.  If 
it  were  not  to  make  him  happy  it  must  have  been  to  make 
him  miserable ;  but  to  suppose  that  he  purposed  to  make 
any  one  miserable  ultimately  and  upon  the  whole,  is  to 
suppose  that  he  purposed  the  production  of  misery  for  its 
own  sake,  which  has  already  been  shown  to  be  impossible. 

And  if  every  principle  of  the  human  understanding  re¬ 
volt  at  the  conclusion,  that  he  is  partial  and  capricious  in 
his  kindness,  and  has  designed  to  make  some  individuals 
happy  and  others  miserable,  it  is  equally  opposed  by  all 
the  appearances  in  nature.  It  is  refuted  by  every  object 
to  which  we  can  direct  our  attention.  The  sun,  in  the 
brightness  of  his  glory,  diffuses  light  and  joy  through  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  He  has  no  favourite  to  bless. 
He  regards  not  in  his  course  the  little  distinctions  which 
prevail  among  mankind.  He  shines  not  on  the  lands  of 
the  great,  forgetting  to  pour  his  beams  on  the  lowly  spot 
of  the  peasant.  He  lights  up  the  Indies  with  a  burning 
glow ;  he  smiles  upon  the  nations  of  Europe  with  a  milder 
beam ;  and  he  shines  upon  the  hoary  path  of  the  Lap¬ 
lander  amidst  his  mountains  of  eternal  snow.  “  The  Lord 
is  good  to  all.  He  causes  his  sun  to  shine  upon  the  evil 
and  the  good/-’ 

The  cloud,  bearing  in  its  bosom  riches  and  fertility, 
pours  its  blessings  upon  every  field,  without  regarding  the 
name  or  rank  of  its  owner.  “  The  Lord  visiteth  the  earth 
with  his  goodness  ;  he  watereth  it  with  the  dew  of  heaven ; 


NO  TRACES  OF  A  PARTIAL  GOD  IN  NATURE. 


115 


he  maketh  it  soft  with  showers  ;  he  blesseth  the  springing 
thereof.” 

Nowhere  in  nature  are  there  traces  of  a  partial  God. 
Some  inequalities  indeed  appear  in  the  distribution  of  his 
bounty,  but  this  must  necessarily  be  the  case  if  creatures 
are  formed  with  different  capacities  and  endowed  with  dif¬ 
ferent  degrees  of  excellence.  There  can  be  no  degrees  in 
excellence,  there  can  be  no  variety  of  orders  and  ranks 
among’  intelligent  beings,  unless  some  are  made  higher  and 
some  lower,  some  better  and  some  wrorse  than  others.  But 
how  low  in  capacity,  how  dark  and  grovelling  in  apprehen¬ 
sion,  how  little  capable  of  estimating  the  benignity  of  the 
author  of  its  mercies,  must  be  that  mind  which  dreams  that 
the  Deity  is  partial,  because  by  diffusing  everywhere  a 
countless  variety  of  capacity,  excellence,  and  happiness, 
he  has  adopted  the. means  of  producing  the  greatest  sum 
of  enjoyment ! 

The  great  things  which  make  us  what  we  are,  which 
minister  to  the  primary  wants,  and  which  lie  at  the  found¬ 
ation  of  the  happiness  of  all  animal  and  intelligent  natures, 
are  always  and  everywhere  the  same.  Life  itself  is  the 
same,  wherever  that  wonderful  power  which  imparts  to  a 
mass  of  clay  the  amazing  properties  of  sensation  and  in¬ 
telligence,  has  operated.  Wherever  a  vital  fluid  circulates, 
from  the  lowest  animal  up  to  the  highest  human  being,  it 
flows  to  diffuse  enjoyment.  To  all,  indeed,  it  does  not 
impart  an  equal  sum  of  happiness,  because  it  could  not  do 
so,  unless  every  object  in  nature  were  exactly  alike  ;  but 
to  all  it  is  the  source  of  pleasure.  Simple  existence  is  a 
blessing ;  simply  to  be,  is  happiness.  And  this  is  the  case 
with  every  race  of  animals,  and  with  every  individual  of 
every  race.  The  Deity  has  made  no  distinction  in  the 
nature  of  the  existence  which  he  has  given  to  his  creatures. 
He  has  not  made  the  act  of  existing  pleasurable  in  one  and 
painful  in  another ;  he  has  made  it  the  same  in  all,  and  in 
ail  he  has  made  it  happy.  No  reason  can  be  assigned  for 
this,  but  that  he  is  good  to  all. 

Every  appearance  of  partiality  vanishes  from  all  his 
great  and  substantial  gifts.  It  is  only  in  what  is  justly 
termed  the  adventitious  circumstances  which  attend  his 
bounties,  that  the  least  indication  of  it  can  be  supposed  to 
exist;  yet  narrow  minds  coniine  their  attention  to  these 


116 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


adventitious  circumstances,  and  hence  conclude  that  he  is 
partial  in  the  distribution  of  his  goodness;  while  all  his 
great  and  fundamental  blessings  are  so  universally  and 
equally  diffused,  that  they  demonstrate  him  to  be  a  being 
of  perfect  benevolence.  Now  we  ought  to  reason  from  the 
great  to  the  little,  not  from  the  little  to  the  great.  We 
ought  to  say,  because  in  everything  of  primary  importance 
there  is  no  appearance  of  partiality,  therefore  there  can  be 
reallv  none,  although  in  lesser  thing’s  there  is  some  in- 
equality  in  the  distribution  of  the  absolute  sum  of  enjoy¬ 
ment  :  not  because  there  is  some  inequality  in  lesser 
things,  therefore  there  must  be  partiality,  although  there 
is  no  indication  of  it  in  anvthing;  of  real  moment. 

If  to  this  consideration  be  added  what  has  alreadv  been 
established,  that  even  the  most  wretched  of  the  human 
race  enjoy  a  great  preponderance  of  happiness,  it  will 
furnish  another  decisive  proof  that  the  Deity  designed  to 
make  all  his  creatures  happy. 

If  we  look  inward  on  ourselves,  and  consider  all  the 
parts  which  minister  to  the  perfection  and  happiness  of 
our  nature,  whether  animal  or  intellectual,  we  shall  find  a 
further  confirmation  of  this  great  truth.  Did  not  one  God 
fashion  us  ?  Has  he  given  to  any  one  of  us  more  mem¬ 
bers  than  to  another  ?  Has  he  superadded  to  one  in  the 
use  of  an  organ  an  exquisite  degree  of  enjoyment  which 
he  has  denied  to  another  ?  Are  not  ail  our  organs  the 
same,  adapted  to  the  same  uses,  and  productive  of  the 
same  gratifications  ?  Has  he  not  given  to  all  the  same 
number  of  senses,  and  made  them  the  source  of  similar 
intelligence  and  pleasure  ?  * 

Indeed,  no  one  can  imagine,  that  in  the  formation  and 
government  of  the  world  the  Deity  has  been  influenced  by 
partiality,  without  entertaining  the  most  low  and  puerile 
conceptions  of  his  nature  and  conduct.  When  of  one 
piece  of  clay  he  made  an  animal  without  reason,  and  of 
another  a  man,  he  felt  no  more  partiality  towards  the  clay 
which  formed  the  man  than  towards  that  of  which  he 

*  If  those  who  are  horn  blind  or  deaf,  or  are  deprived  of  any  sense  by  acci¬ 
dent,  should  be  considered  exceptions  to  this  general  rule,  it  is  still  only  the 
exception  of  one  case  in  many  thousands  ;  and  the  loss,  even  where  it  does  take 
place,  is  very  generally  compensated,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  by  the  acute¬ 
ness  which  the  remaining  senses  acquire. 


MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  GOOD  UNIVERSAL. 


117 


constructed  the  animal  without  reason.  But  he  determined 
to  impart  enjoyment  to  an  infinite  variety  of  organized 
and  sensitive  creatures.  It  was  necessary  to  the  perfection 
of  his  plan  that  there  should  be  an  animal  without  reason ; 
it  was  necessarv  that  there  should  be  a  man.  He,  there- 
fore,  gave  to  each  the  properties  it  possesses. 

Xow  while  we  suppose  that  he  was  not  influenced  by 
partiality  in  the  distinction  which  he  has  made  between 
the  different  genera  of  creatures,  shall  we  imagine  that 
when  he  proceeded  to  form  the  species,  and  still  more  the 
individuals,  he  on  a  sudden  changed  the  principle  of  his 
conduct,  and  acted  solely  with  a  view  to  gratify  a  capricious 
fondness  for  one  individual,  and  aversion  to  another ;  that 
classes  and  orders,  those  great  lines  of  demarcation  be¬ 
tween  different  creatures,  do  not  proceed  from  partiality, 
but  that  the  slight  shades  of  difference  which  distinguish 
individuals  from  individuals  do  ?  Can  any  conception  be 
more  puerile  ?  Every  blessing  diffused  over  the  creation, 
which  is  of  great  or  permanent  importance,  is  given  not  to 
individuals,  but  to  the  species.  This  is  the  invariable  law 
of  nature. 

But  while  the  universality  of  the  Divine  benevolence 

V 

will  be  readily  admitted  with  respect  to  the  blessings 
which  have  been  mentioned,  many  persons  believe  that 
the  Deity  acts  upon  a  totally  different  principle  with  re¬ 
gard  to  the  distribution  of  moral  and  spiritual  favour,  and 

that  he  invariable  confines  the  communication  of  this  cle- 

1 / 

scription  of  good  to  a  few  chosen  individuals.  The  most 
popular  systems  of  religion  which  prevail  in  the  present 
age  are  founded  upon  this  opinion.  But  if  it  be  a  fact 
that  there  is  no  partiality  in  the  primary  and  essential  gift 
of  existence,  in  life  considered  as  a  whole,  in  the  minor 
properties  and  felicities  of  our  nature,  in  our  senses,  in 
our  intellectual  and  moral  faculties,  and  in  the  gratifica¬ 
tion  of  which  thev  are  respectively  the  source  :  if  all  these 

v  A  %J  s 

great  blessings  agree  in  this  important  circumstance,  that 
they  are  instruments  of  enjoyment  to  all,  and  that  the 
happiness  they  actually  do  impart  is  universal — it  must 
follow  that  there  is  no  partiality  in  the  distribution  of 
moral  and  spiritual  good.  For  why  is  this  spiritual  good 
imparted  to  any  ?  Why  is  it  superadded  to  the  merely 
animal  and  intellectual  nature  of  a  single  individual  P  It 

O 


118 


THE*  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


must  be  to  perfect  its  possessor,  and  to  make  him  sus¬ 
ceptible  of  a  greater  sum  of  enjoyment. 

We  perceive,  that  in  addition  to  mere  animal  existence, 
man  is  endowed  with  organs  which  constitute  him  the 
most  perfect  of  the  creatures  which  inhabit  the  earth. 
Why  w~ere  these  organs  given  him  ?  Without  doubt  that 
he  might  enjoy  a  higher  degree  of  happiness  than  tlie 
creatures  beneath  him.  To  the  organs  which  constitute 
him  a  mere  (though  a  very  perfect)  animal,  there  are  then 
superadded  others  which  impart  to  him  a  rational  and 
moral  nature,  with  a  view  that  he  may  enjoy  a  more  per¬ 
fect  happiness ;  but  besides  all  these,  other  properties  are 
added,  which  exalt  him  still  higher  in  the  scale  of  cre¬ 
ation  ;  properties,  for  the  reception  of  which  the  former 
only  qualify  him ;  properties  which  make  him  capable  of 
loving  his  Maker,  and  of  enjoying  him  for  ever.  Why  is 
he  endowed  with  these  ?  Certainly  that  he  may  enjoy  a 
more  perfect  happiness  than  he  could  attain  without  them. 
Must  not  this  reason  then  induce  the  Author  of  these  in¬ 
valuable  blessings  to  bestow  them  upon  the  race  as  well  as 
iinon  a  few  individuals. 

JL 

Let  the  mind  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  what  it  is  it 
really  supposes  when  it  imagines  that  these  properties  are 
given  to  some  and  denied  to  others.  The  difference  be¬ 
tween  the  man  who  is  capable  of  perceiving  the  excellence 
of  the  great  and  perfect  Being  who  made  him,  of  loving 
him,  and  of  conforming  to  his  character,  and  the  man  who 
not  only  is  not  endowed  with  this  capacity,  but  is  impelled 
by  the  principles  of  his  nature  to  hate  the  Deity,  is  in¬ 
finitely  greater  than  the  difference  between  a  worm  and 
the  most  exalted  of  the  human  race.  For  if  before  the 
religious  faculty  begins  to  be  developed  there  appear  no 
remarkable  distinction  between  them,  let  them  be  observed 
after  this  principle  has  been  called  into  action,  and  has 
operated  for  some  time.  It  will  then  be  seen,  that  in 
their  conceptions,  their  occupations,  and  their  enjoyments, 
they  totally  differ  from  each  other,  that  they  have  hardly 
anything  in  common,  that  there  is  as  great  a  distinction 
between  them  as  between  the  insect  which  grovels  in  the 
dust,  and  the  man  who  first  measured  the  distances  of  the 
stars,  and  taught  us  the  laws  by  which  the  universe  is 
governed.  Let  the  mind  look  forward  to  eternity,  and 


DESIGNS  OF  THE  DEITY  CANNOT  BE  FRUSTRATED.  119 


suppose  (as  always  is  supposed)  that  both  will  progress¬ 
ively  advance,  each  in  his  career,  through  the  ages  of  an 
endless  duration,  how  immeasurable  does  the  distance  be¬ 
tween  them  then  become  ! 

Now  the  difference  which  is  here  supposed  between  two 
beings  of  the  same  species  is  never  found  to  exist.  There 
is  nothing  similar  to  it  in  the  whole  range  of  that  part  of 
the  creation  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Differences 
between  individuals  of  the  same  species  are  observable, 
but  there  is  nothing  approaching  the  immensity  of  this  in¬ 
conceivable  distinction.  Whatever  differences  prevail  are 
those  of  degree,  not  of  kind.  Every  individual  of  the  same 
species  has  every  essential  property  the  same  as  his  fel¬ 
lows  ;  but  here  a  property  infinitely  more  important  in  its 
consequences  than  the  addition  of  a  new  sense  would  be, 
is  given  to  one  and  denied  to  another.  This  looks  not 
like  the  work  of  the  Deity.  It  is  a  vast  and  sudden  chasm 
in  a  plan  of  wondrous  order,  for  which  no  preparation  is 
made,  to  which  we  are  led  by  no  preparatory  steps,  for 
which  nothing  can  account,  and  which  nothing  can  recon¬ 
cile.  It  bears  upon  it  traces  of  the  imperfect  and  short¬ 
sighted  contrivance  of  man ;  it  is  contradicted  by  all 
which  we  feel  and  know  of  the  works  of  God,  and  it  ougfht 
to  be  driven  from  the  mind  of  every  rational  being,  that 
the  fair  creation  of  the  Deity  may  no  longer  be  falsified  by 
the  deceptive  medium  through  which  it  is  viewed,  and 
that  our  Maker  may  not  be  charged  with  injustice  because 
our  eve  is  evil ! 


PART  II. 

CHAPTER  I. — Section  YI. 

OF  THE  IMPOSSIBILITY  OF  FRUSTRATING  THE  DESIGN  OF  THE 

DEITY. 

If  the  Deity  created  all  men  with  a  design  to  make  them 
happy,  their  ultimate  felicity  is  certain;  for  if  a  being 
propose  to  himself  the  accomplishment  of  a  design,  he  will 


120 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


perform  it,  unless  some  motive  arise  from  within  to  induce 
liim  to  change  it,  or  some  circumstance  arise  from  without 
to  oblige  him  to  change  it.  Nothing  can  explain  the 
failure  of  his  purpose,  unless  it  be  supposed,  either  thar 
he  has  voluntarily  changed  it,  or  has  been  forced  by  some 
superior  power  to  abandon  it. 

If  the  Deity  voluntarily  change  his  plan,  it  must  be  for 
the  better  or  for  the  worse.  If  for  the  better,  the  original 
plan  must  have  been  imperfect ;  if  for  the  worse,  since  he 
knows  all  things  perfectly,  and  must,  therefore,  foresee 
the  consequence,  it  follows,  that  what  he  perceives  to  be  a 
good  plan  is  relinquished  for  one  which  he  knows  to  be 
bad  :  but  the  supposition,  that  a  wise  and  good  being  can 
thus  act,  is  impossible. 

If,  on  the  contrarv,  he  has  been  forced  to  chang-e  his 
plan,  that  which  obliged  him  to  do  so  must  be  stronger 
than  he  ;  for  no  being  will  permit  his  design  to  be  frus¬ 
trated  by  a  power  which  is  weaker  than  himself.  What¬ 
ever,  therefore,  it  be  which  frustrates  the  design  of  the 
Deity,  must  be  stronger  than  omnipotence,  which  is  a 
contradiction. 

In  a  word,  God  is  a  being  of  perfect  goodness.  He 
created  man  with  a  design  to  make  him  happy.*  There  is 
nothing  in  the  universe  capable  of  frustrating  his  design. 
However,  therefore,  that  design  be  opposed  ;  through 
whatever  long  or  painful  discipline  man  may  be  conducted 
to  happiness,  he  must  finally  attain  it. 

It  does  not  seem  possible  to  avoid  this  conclusion,  but 
by  saying  that  the  Deity  possesses  other  attributes  which 
are  of  a  nature  contrary  to  that  upon  which  the  whole  of 
this  reasoning  is  founded ;  and  in  fact  this  is  affirmed. 
To  all  the  arguments  in  favour  of  the  final  happiness  of 
mankind,  deduced  from  the  goodness  of  God,  it  is  replied, 
that  God  is  a  Sovereign,  and  can  do  what  he  pleases ;  that 

*  It  is  nothing  to  say,  that  the  happiness  intended  to  be  bestowed  upon  his 
creatures  by  the  Deity  is  conditional.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  so  far 
conditional' that  no  being  can  he  happy  until  he  becomes  virtuous.  But  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  in  which  men  are  placed,  and  the  ultimate  effect  of  those  circum¬ 
stances  upon  their  character,  were  clearly  foreseen  by  the  Deity,  and  if  he 
perceived  that  any  individual,  under  any  particular  combination  of  circum¬ 
stances,  would  never  become  virtuous,  he  would  either  have  altered  his  circum¬ 
stances,  or  not  have  called  him  into  existence.  One  or  other  of  these  measures 
benevolence  required. 


HARMONY  OF  THE  DIVINE  PERFECTIONS. 


121 


lie  is  just,  and  must  maintain  tlie  riglits  of  liis  law ;  that 
he  is  holy,  and  must  punish  sin.  All  these  positions  are 
strictly  true  :  hut  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  they  can 
oppose  the  conclusions  which  are  deduced  from  his  good¬ 
ness.  They  cannot  possibly  do  so,  unless  the  attributes 
of  sovereignty,  justice,  and  holiness,  are  contrary  to  good¬ 
ness,  and  this  is  what  is  really  affirmed.  These  perfections 
are  conceived  to  be  tremendous  attributes  which  are  dif¬ 
ferent  from  an  opposite  to  goodness.  It  would  seem  like 
trifling  to  confute  this  opinion,  and  to  show  that  they  can 
be  only  modifications  of  benevolence ;  yet  it  is  necessary 
to  prove  it,  and  this  is  attempted  in  another  part  of  this 
work.  At  present  it  may  be  sufficient  to  show  in  general, 
that  a  being;  of  perfect  goodness  can  possess  no  attribute 
which  is  inconsistent  with  that  perfection. 


PART  II. 

CHAPTER  I.— Section  VII. 

OF  THE  HARMONY  OF  THE  DIVINE  PERFECTIONS. 

A  being  of  perfect  goodness  can  possess  no  attribute 
which  is  inconsistent  with  that  perfection ;  for  whatever 
is  inconsistent  with  goodness  is  evil,  and  to  affirm  that  a 
being  may  be  perfectly  good,  while  he  possesses  a  single 
attribute  which  is  contrary  to  goodness,  is  to  say  that  he 
may  be  perfectly  good  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  evil. 

Since  whatever  is  inconsistent  with  goodness  is  evil ; 
since  it  has  been  proved  that  all  evil  has  its  origin  in  want 
or  weakness  ;  since  it  is  universally  acknowledged  that 
God  is  almighty,  and  therefore  can  have  no  want  nor 
weakness,  it  follows,  that  he  can  possess  no  attribute 
which  is  inconsistent  with  benevolence. 

A  e  have  only  to  determine  the  nature  of  an  attribute, 
to  decide  whether  or  not  it  can  belong  to  the  Deity.  If 
an  attribute  be  evil,  it  certainly  cannot  belong  to  God. 
Now  the  attribute,  whatever  it  be,  which  inflicts  endless 
misery  on  any  being,  is  evil.  It  is  not  affirmed  merely 


122 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


that  the  attribute,  is  evil  which  inflicts  endless  misery  on 
the  great  majority  of  men  :  but  that  that  attribute  is  so 
which  inflicts  it  even  upon  one  single  individual :  and  the 
proof  is  obvious. 

Misery,  considered  in  itself,  is  evil.  Misery  is  only 
another  word  which  is  used  to  express  pain  of  some  kind 
or  other.  Pain,  considered  simply  in  itself,  is  universally 
admitted  to  be  evil.  Whatever  produces  pain  without 
doing  anything  else,  is  evil. 

Is  all  pain,  then,  evil  ?  Mo.  Why  ?  Because  some 
pain  has  an  ulterior  object,  which  is  the  production  of 
good.  Hunger,  for  example,  is  attended  with  pain,  but 
this  pain  is  not  evil,  because  it  has  an  ulterior  object.  Its 
design  is  not  to  inflict  suffering,  but  to  preserve  life  by 
inducing  the  animal  to  take  food.  In  proportion,  there¬ 
fore,  as  life  is  a  good  to  the  animal,  the  pain  which  excites 
him  to  use  the  means  of  preserving  it  is  a  . good. 

Mow  all  pain  which  has  not  this  ulterior  object,  being 
pure  and  simple  pain,  pain  and  nothing  else,  is  evil.  But 
misery  inflicted  through  endless  ages  cannot  possibly  ac¬ 
complish  this  ulterior  object,  since  there  is  no  period  in 
which  it  can  effect  it ;  such  misery  must  be  evil,  therefore, 
in  the  highest  possible  degree. 

It  will  avail  nothing  to  say  that  the  object  of  the  inflic¬ 
tion  of  endless  misery  is  not  pain,  but  the  satisfaction  of 
immutable  justice.  This  does  not  in  the  least  affect  the 
argument  ;  for  the  position  is,  that  that  attribute,  what¬ 
ever  it  may  be  called,  is  evil,  which  inflicts  misery  upon  a 
being,  without  doing  and  without  designing  to  do  any¬ 
thing  else  to  him.  To  that  being  it  is  pure,  positive, 
absolute  evil.  Whatever  makes  a  being  more  miserable 
than  happy,  the  whole  of  his  existence  considered,  is  to 
him  positive  evil.  A  good  being  must  cause  to  every 
creature  an  excess  of  pleasure  above  pain,  for  he  is  good 
to  it  only  in  proportion  as.  he  does  so.  But,  according  to 
the  doctrine  of  endless  punishment,  God  does  not  cause  to 
the  great  majority  of  his  creatures  an  excess  of  pleasure 
above  pain ;  for  he  deprives  them,  through  the  whole  of 
their  future  existence,  of  every  pleasurable  sensation,  and 
inflicts  upon  them  the  most  unremitted  and  intolerable 
anguish. 

It  is  usual  to  represent  the  future  punishment  of  the 


SAVAGE  DOCTRINE  OF  ENDLESS  MISERY. 


123 


wicked  in  tlie  following  manner  :  Suppose  a  large  mount¬ 
ain,  composed  of  the  minutest  grains  of  sand;  suppose 
one  of  these  grains  to  be  removed  once  in  a  million  of 
years,  the  length  of  time  which  would  elapse  before  the 
removal  of  the  last  of  these  grains  infinitely  surpasses  our 
power  of  conception.  Yet  this  period,  immeasurable  as  it 
is,  is  not  endless,  and  therefore  can  convey  to  the  mind 
but  a  faint  idea  of  the  duration  of  the  torments  of  the 
wicked.  We  must  suppose  the  globe  itself  to  be  composed 
of  grains  of  sand,  nay,  all  the  planets  of  our  system,  and  all 
the  stars  which  we  behold  in  the  heavens  ;  we  must  sup¬ 
pose  the  particles  which  compose  these  immense  and  in¬ 
numerable  bodies  formed  into  one  vast  mass,  to  be  removed 
by  the  transposition  of  a  single  grain  once  in  a  million  of 
years, — how  inconceivable  the  period  that  must  elapse 
before  the  removal  of  the  last  grain  !  The  faculties  of  the 
human  mind  are  lost  in  the  contemplation  of  it  !  Yet  this 
period  is  not  endless,  and  it  has  been  often  said,  that  could 
the  wicked  be  told,  that  at  the  termination  of  such  a 
period  their  sufferings  would  cease,  the  tidings  would  fill 
them  with  inconceivable  transport.  But  they  are  not  per¬ 
mitted  to  indulge  even  this  forlorn  and  awful  hope.  When 
this  dreadful  period  shall  have  elapsed,  their  sufferings  will 
be  but  beginning* ;  nay,  when  millions  of  such  periods 
shall  have  passed  away,  their  torment  will  be  no  nearer 
its  termination  than  at  the  instant  of  its  commencement. 
And  these  sufferings  are  represented  as  most  dreadful 
in  their  nature.  No  imagination,  it  is  said,  can  conceive 
of  their  horror.  No  sensation  of  pleasure  can  ever 
again  be  felt  by  the  soul,  but  through  endless  ages  it 
must  continue  inconceivably  miserable,  without  the  inter¬ 
mission  of  a  single  instant,  and  without  any  hope  of  it. 
And  this  misery  is  inflicted  for  the  crimes  of  eighty, 
twenty,  ten  years;  inflicted  upon  the  great  majority  of 
mankind ;  inflicted  by  a  Being  whose  nature  is  supremely 
benevolent,  and  whose  tender  mercies  are,  at  all  times, 
over  all  his  works  !  * 

*  I  profess  myself  utterly  unable,  by  any  language  at  my  command,  to  convey 
an  adequate  conception  of  the  ideas  which  are  in  the  minds  of  the  advocates  of 
this  doctrine.  Lc-t  one. of  the  most  respected  of  these  advocates  perform  the 
task  himself:  “  Be  entreated,”  says  Edwards,  in  his  “  Discourse  on  the  Eter¬ 
nity  of  Hell  Torments,”  pp.  28,  &c.,  “to  consider  attentively  how  great  and 
awful  a  thing  Eternity  is.  Although  you  cannot  comprehend  it  the  more  by 


124 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


Sucli  is  tlie  doctrine  of  endless  misery.  Can  any  one 
seriously  believe  it  ?  Can  any  liuman  being  consider  what 

considering,  yet  you  may  be  made  more  sensible  that  it  is  not  a  thing  to  be  dis¬ 
regarded.  Do  but  consider  what  it  is  to  suffer  extreme  pain  for  ever  and  ever  ; 
to  suffer  it  day  and  night,  from  one  day  to  another,  from  one  year  to  another, 
from  one  age  to  another,  from  one  thousand  ages  to  another  ;  and  so  adding  age 
to  age,  and  thousands  to  thousands,  in  pain,  in  wailing  and  lamenting,  groaning 
and  shrieking,  and  gnashing  your  teeth  ;  with  your  souls  full  of  dreadful  grief 
and  amazement,  with  your  bodies,  and  every  member  of  them,  full  of  racking 
torture ;  without  any  possibility  of  getting  ease ;  without  any  possibility  of 
moving  God  to  pity  by  your  cries;  without  any  possibility  of  hiding  yourselves 
from  him  ;  without  any  possibility  of  diverting  your  thoughts  from  your  pain  ; 
without  any  possibility  of  obtaining  any  manner  of  mitigation,  or  help,  or 
change  for  the  better.— How  dismal  will  it  be,  when  you  are  under  these  rack¬ 
ing  torments,  to  know  assuredly  that  you  never,  never  shall  be  delivered  from 
them;  to  have  no  hope — when  you  shall  wish  that  you  might  be  turned  into 
nothing,  but  shall  have  no  hope  of  it ;  when  you  shall  wish  that  you  might  be 
turned  into  a  toad,  or  a  serpent,  but  shall  have  no  hope  of  it ;  when  you  would 
rejoice  if  you  might  but  have  any  relief,  after  you  shall  have  endured  these  tor¬ 
ments  millions  of  ages,  but  shall  have  no  hope  of  it ;  when  after  you  have  worn 
out  the  age  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  in  your  dolorous  groans  and  lamenta¬ 
tions,  without  rest  day  or  night,  or  one  minute’s  ease,  yet  you  shall  have  no 
hope  of  being  delivered;  when,  after  you  shall  have  worn  out  a  thousand  more 
such  ages,  yet  you  shall  have  no  hope,  but  shall  know  that  you  are  no  one  whit 
nearer  to  the  end  of  your  torments ;  that  still  there  are  the  same  groans,  the 
same  shrieks,  the  same  doleful  cries  incessantly  to  be  made  by  you,  and  that  the 
smoke  of  your  torment  shall  still  ascend  for  ever  and  ever  ;  and  that  your  souls, 
which  shall  have  been  agitated  with  the  wrath  of  God  all  this  while,  yet  will 
still  exist  to  bear  more  wrath  ;  your  bodies,  which  shall  have  been  burning  all 
this  while  in  these  glowing  flames,  yet  shall  not  have  been  consumed,  but  will 
remain  through  an  eternity  yet ;  which  shall  not  have  been  at  all  shortened  by 
what  shall  have  been  past.” 

In  the  next  page  he  adds,  “  Besides,  their  capacity  (that  of  the  wicked)  will 
probably  be  enlarged,  their  understandings  will  be  quicker  and  stronger  in  a 
future  state ;  and  God  can  give  them  as  great  a  sense,  and  as  strong  an  impres¬ 
sion  of  eternity  as  he  pleases,  to  increase  their  grief  and  torment.” 

What  a  tremendous,  what  a  savage  thought !  What  a  thing  is  system  !  To 
think  that  a  man,  possessing  a  heart  of  flesh,  and  an  understanding  enlightened 
by  the  Christian  religion,  can  steadily  contemplate  such  a  scene  as  this,  and 
imagine  it  is  a  just  exhibition  of  the  conduct  of  the  Author  of  this  beautiful  and 
happy  world  !  Such  conduct  is  worthy  of  the  mind  that  plotted  the  Inquisition, 
and  of  the  heart  that  first  leaped  in  exultation  at  the  device  of  consuming  the 
body  in  the  flaming  fagot  for  the  good  of  the  soul;  but  to  impute  it  to  the  pure, 
and  lovely,  and  benignant  Spirit  that  presides  over  the  universe — language  can¬ 
not  speak  the  horror  that  is  in  it. 

While  feeling  as  I  do  the  utter  inability  of  language  to  express  the  deep  re¬ 
probation  with  which  such  representations  ought  to  be  regarded  by  all  Christians, 
I  should  think  myself  deficient  both  in  candour  and  justice,  were  I  to  omit  to 
state  a  truth  of  which  there  is  abundant  evidence,  and  of  which  I  rejoice  to  per¬ 
ceive  that  the  evidence  is  increasing,  namely,  that  in  the  present  age  many  per¬ 
sons  who  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  endless  misery  shrink  with  unfeigned  horror 
from  such  exhibitions  of  it.  Many  excellent  and  pious  persons,  some  of  whom  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  knowing,  though  they  cannot  satisfy  themselves  that  the 
terms  in  which  the  Scriptures  speak  of  the  endless  suffering  of  the  wicked, 
import  less  than  an  endless  duration,  and  though  they  profess  themselves  unable 


DESIGNS  OF  THE  DEITY  EXALTED  AND  GLORIOUS. 


125 


God  is,  and  wliat  endless  misery  implies,  and  affirm  that 
he  really  thinks  the  infliction  of  the  one  consistent  with  the 
perfections  of  the  other  ? 

All  the  weight  of  the  preceding  reasoning,  all  the 
obstacles  which  it  opposes  to  the  belief  that  such  can  be 
the  end  of  the  greater  part  of  the  rational  world,  created 
by  an  infinitely  wise,  powerful,  and  good  Being,  may  be 
applied  against  the  doctrine  that  the  wicked  will  be  raised 
from  the  dead,  made  to  suffer  great  bodily  anguish,  and 
then  blotted  out  of  existence  for  ever.  Against  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  endless  punishment  it  seems  decisive  ;  against  the 
doctrine  of  limited  punishment  terminated  by  destruction  it 
applies  with  great,  though  not  with  equal  force  :  for  while 
the  first  opinion  teaches  that  he  acts  altogether  contrary  to 
goodness,  the  second  represents  him  as  not  acting  up  to 
what  sober  and  unpresuming  reason  seems  to  indicate  the 
full  measure  of  it. 

In  a  word,  if  God  be  really  a  being  of  perfect  goodness, 
who  can  at  no  time  act  without  the  most  benevolent 
design ;  if  when  he  created  man  he  intended  that  he 
should  be  pure  and  happy,  and  if  there  be  nothing  in  the 
universe  capable  of  frustrating  his  purpose,  both  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  endless  misery,  and  that  of  limited  punishment 
terminated  by  destruction,  appear  to  be  attended  with  in¬ 
superable  difficulties.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  sin 
which  ad  present  prevails,  and  the  punishment  which  in 
future  will  be  inflicted  upon  it,  be  the  means  employed  by 
the  Deity  to  accomplish  his  benevolent  purpose ;  if  the 
state  of  discipline  in  which  he  will  place  his  erring  creatures 
be  so  wisely  adapted  to  their  mental  and  moral  disorder, 
as  to  oblige  them  to  perceive  and  feel  and  hate  the  folly  of 
which  they  have  been  guilty,  to  excite  in  them  a  deep 

to  see  any  injustice  in  the  infliction  of  an  endless  punishment,  yet  believe  that 
the  degree  of  suffering  actually  imposed  will  not  exceed  that  which  is  perfectly 
consistent  with  infinite  benevolence.  What  that  degree  is  they  do  not  presume 
to  determine.  On  this  awful  subject  they  are  content  to  take  the  language  of 
Scripture  as  they  find  it,  and  wish  uniformly  to  adhere  to  that  language, 
satisfied  that,  whatever  be  the  degree  and  the  duration  of  the  misery  really 
threatened,  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  must  do  right.  While,  therefore,  their 
wishes  incline  them  to  milder  views  of  the  Divine  inflictions,  they  highly  disap¬ 
prove  of  such  representations  of  them  as  those  that  have  been  cited,  which  they 
think,  if  considered  and  believed,  must  fill  the  mind  with  too  much  terror  to 
exert  a  reasonable  and  steady  influence  over  it,  and  if  not  considered  and 
believed,  can  be  of  no  service. 


126 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


sorrow  for  it,  and  a  real  love  of  goodness';  and  if,  when 
thus  fitted  for  pure  enjoyment,  he  mercifully  permit  them 
to  participate  of  it,  every  difficulty  vanishes,  everything*  is 
consistent,  everything  is  glorious,  every  counsel  is  benevo¬ 
lent,  and  every  perfection  harmonizes  with  the  event.  His 
justice,  his  holiness,  his  wisdom,  his  power,  his  goodness, 
will  have  been  exerted,  and  exerted  successfully,  to  bring 
about  a  result  truly  exalted  and  glorious.  Then,  indeed, 
may  the  universal  acclamation  of  praise  burst  from  his 
intelligent  creation — Alleluia,  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth  ! 


PAET  II.— CHAPTEE  II. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  FAVOUR  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  UNIVERSAL 
RESTORATION,  FROM  THE  NATURE  OF  MAN. 

A  skilful  artificer,  in  constructing  a  piece  of  machinery, 
modifies  and  combines  its  various  parts  so  as  to  make  them 
subservient  to  a  particular  purpose,  and  we  estimate  the 
perfection  of  the  mechanism  by  the  completeness  with 
which  everything  is  included  necessary  to  secure  the 
intended  result,  and  everything  avoided  which  may  im¬ 
pede  it.  In  the  external  frame  of  man  there  is  the  most 
exquisite  adaptation  of  different  parts  to  each  other;  the 
most  beautiful  results  are  designed  and  accomplished  by 
contrivances,  at  one  time  extremely  simple,  at  another 
wonderfully  complicated,  but  at  all  times  perfectly  wise  and 
efficient.  The  external  frame  of  man,  however,  is  only  a 
part,  and  a  very  inferior  pent,  of  this  wonderful  microcosm; 
and  since  such  inimitable  skill  has  been  exerted  in  the  con¬ 
struction  of  it,  we  must  conclude  that  the  whole  nature  of 
man  is  designed  to  answer  some  purpose,  and,  if  it  be  right 
to  judge  of  the  importance  of  the  object  by. the  magnitude 
of  the  means  employed  to  secure  it,  a  purpose  truly 
excellent. 

If  we  examine  the  higher  faculties  with  which  man  is 
endowed,  and  judge  of  the  purpose  for  which  they  are 
imparted  by  that  to  which  they  are  adapted,  we  cannot 


IMMORTAL  ENDOWMENTS  OF  MAN^S  NATURE. 


127 


mistake  tlie  ends  they  are  designed  to  answer.  All  tlie 
nobler  properties  by  which  he  is  distinguished  may  be 
arranged,  with  sufficient  accuracy  for  the  present  purpose, 
under  his  intellectual  powers,  and  his  social  and  moral 
tendencies.  He  can  observe  the  beauty  and  order  of  the 
world  in  which  he  is  placed ;  he  can  investigate  the  causes 
of  its  phenomena;  he  can  ascertain  the  laws  by  which  it  is 
governed;  he  can  penetrate  into  the  secret  recesses  of 
nature,  and  contemplate  the  process  by  which  many  of  the 
wonders  which  surround  him  are  formed ;  he  can  extend 
his  view  bevond  the  boundaries  of  his  own  world,  calcu- 
late  the  distances  of  the  worlds  above  him,  ascertain  their 
magnitude  and  trace  their  movements  :  he  can  perform  a 
still  more  difficult  task ;  he  can  retire  into  himself,  inves¬ 
tigate  the  principles  and  propensities  of  his  own  nature, 
and  reason  respecting  the  very  faculties  by  which  he  con¬ 
ducts  the  astonishing  process  of  thought.  Endowed  with 
affections  which  lead  him  out  of  himself,  and  attach  him  to 
his  fellow-beings,  he  can  rejoice  in  their  joy,  and  weep  for 
their  woe  ;  he  feels  bound  to  them  by  tender  and  endear¬ 
ing  ties  ;  without  their  society  he  is  gloomy  and  sad  ;  so 
long  as  he  cherishes  the  generous  affections  in  his  inter¬ 
course  with  them,  cheerfulness  smiles  upon  his  features, 
and  happiness  dilates  his  heart.  He  can  sit  in  judgment 
on  the  nature  of  his  own  conduct,  distinguish  between 
good  and  evil,  and  while  he  glows  ’with  admiration  at  the 
contemplation  of  every  generous  and  sublime  affection,  he 
feels  indignation  and  disgust  at  the  selfishness  which  con¬ 
siders  only  its  own  good,  and  the  vice  which  pursues  it  at 
the  expense  of  the  general  happiness.  He  can  hold  inter¬ 
course  with  the  Great  Being  who  gave  him  existence,  and 
who  crowns  him  with  good  ;  and  though  a  mysterious  veil, 
which  he  cannot  pierce,  shroud  the  Sovereign  Spirit  from 
his  mortal  vision,  yet  he.  can  feel  a  solemn  and  endearing 
consciousness  that  he  is  continually  present  with  him;  that 
he  is  above  him,  and  beneath  him,  and  around  him  :  he 
can  hear  his  voice  instructing  him  in  his  duty,  and  per¬ 
ceive  his  hand  directing  him  in  his  course,  and  rejoice  in 
his  promise,  that  he  shall  re-awake  from  the  sleep  of  death, 
burst  the  fetters  of  the  tomb,  enjoy  immortal  youth,  and 
pursue  with  unwearied  step,  through  the  countless  ages  of 
eternity,  attainments  which  rise  higher  and  higher  in 


128 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


infinite  progression,  and  which  perpetually  fill  and  enlarge 
liis  capacity.  Forgetting  the  enjoyments  of  the  present 
life,  which  is  but  as  a  moment  of  time  compared  with 
eternal  duration,  he  is  capable  of  acting  with  a  view  to  his 
immortal  dignity  and  happiness,  and  of  resigning  all  which 
he  now  holds  dear  and  valuable,  if  necessary,  to  promote 
his  future  felicity. 

For  what  can  a  being  thus  wonderfully  endowed  be 
called  into  existence  ?  For  what  are  such  faculties  given 
him  ?  To  be  for  ever  misdirected  and  abused ;  to  be 
wasted  on  littleness  and  devoted  to  folly  ;  to  adorn  and 
secure  the  triumph  of  evil,  and  to  afford  to  the  universe  an 
eternal  spectacle  of  majestic  desolation  and  fallen  and  per¬ 
verted  grandeur  ?  Or,  to  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  fair 
creation,  by  proving  that  one  principle  pervades  it;  that 
one  Almighty  power  directs  its  operation ;  that  in  the 
higher,  as  well  as  in  the  lower  part  of  the  works  of  God, 
nothing  is  made  in  vain ;  that  the  means  are  universally 
adapted  to  the  end,  and  the  end  invariably  secured  by  the 
means  ? 

If  this  be  notfihe  case,  how  singular  is  it  that  man  should 
furnish  the  only  instance  in  the  creation  of  a  complicated 
adaptation  of  means  which  answer  no  end,  or  rather  of  an 
admirable  and  exalted  provision,  entirely  perverted  from 
its  purpose  !  If  we  examine  any  other  part  of  the  world, 
if  we  look  beneath  us  or  above  us,  we  can  perceive  nothing 
analogous  to  it.  All  the  inferior  animals  fulfil  the  object 
of  their  creation  ;  they  take  no  thought  of  to-morrow ;  they 
look  not  before  nor  after;  the  sun  shines  upon  them,  they 
bask  in  its  beams,  and  are  content :  the  verdant  surface  of 
the  earth  presents  them  with  a  rich  repast ;  they  eat,  they 
lie  down  to  rest,  they  rise  with  the  morning  A  dawn,  pur¬ 
suing  from  day  to  day  the  same  unvarying  round,  and 
happy  without  knowing  or  desiring  to  know  more.  Those 
exalted  intelligences  of  which  we  are  accustomed  to  con¬ 
ceive  as  forming  the  highest  orders  of  creation,  and  fulfil¬ 
ling  the  highest  counsels  of  the  Sovereign  Spirit,  however 
sublime  their  capacities,  and  illimitable  their  desires,  are 
filled  with  that  adorable  object  which  they  continually  con¬ 
template  and  serve.  Why,  then,  is  man  the  only  creature 
in  the  universe  who  possesses  a  nature  which  falsifies  every 
appearance,  and  disappoints  every  expectation ;  a  capacity 


HUMAN  CAPACITY  FOR  IMPROVEMENT. 


129 


wlii eli  enables  him  to  soar  with  the  Seraph,  and  a  destiny 
which  levels  him  with  the  brute  ? 

The  few  attainments  which  he  at  present  makes  should 
by  no  means  render  it  incredible,  that  his  distant  and  ad¬ 
vanced  progress  will  be  thus  sublime  ;  for  those  attain¬ 
ments,  inconsiderable  as  they  are,  afford  an  animating 
assurance  of  his  ultimate  perfection.  They  form  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  a  course,  which  as  it  is  to  continue  through 
an  interminable  series  of  ages,  so  it  must  promote  an  illimit¬ 
able  improvement.  They  may  terminate,  it  is  obvious, 
in  a  perfection  of  knowledge  and  happiness,  as  great  as  the 
imagination  can  conceive ;  for  in  order  to  do  so,  they  re¬ 
quire  no  change  in  their  nature,  but  only  an  increase  in 
their  degree  :  the  very  acquisitions  which  an  enlightened 
and  virtuous  man  has  already  made,  carried  on  to  tlieir 
possible  extent,  may  place  him  at  a  point  as  high  in  the 
scale  of  creation  as  that  which  the  first-born  Seraph  at 
present  occupies.  Nor  does  what  we  know  of  his  past 
oppose  what  we  thus  augur  of  his  future  progress.  Who 
that  saw  Newton  when  an  infant,  leaning  on  his  mother’s 
bosom,  and  had  never  witnessed  an  instance  of  a  similar 
progress,  would  have  believed  that  that  little  and  fatuous 
creature  would,  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  years,  be  able  to 
measure  the  distance  of  the  stars,  and  to  teach  to  a  listening’ 
world  the  laws  which  regulate  their  mighty  movements  ? 
The  attainments  of  such  a  being  in  his  progress  from  in- 
fancv  to  manhood  are  infinitelv  more  wonderful  than  any 
which  we  suppose  him  afterwards  to  make ;  for  in  the  one 
case,  it  is  an  astonishing  progress  commencing  from  no¬ 
thing-  •  in  the  other,  it  is  only  the  continuance  of  a  course 
already  greatly  advanced :  so  that  it  is  not  even  so  in- 
credible  that  a  man  should  arrive  at  the  attainments  of  an 
angel  as  that  an  infant  should  gain  the  acquisitions  of  a 
man. 

Neither  ought  any  present  neglect  or  perversion  of  his 
powers  to  bring  doubt  upon  the  conclusion  that  his  ultimate 
destiny  will  be  thus  sublime  :  for  a  temporary  and  partial 
obstruction  to  his  prog’ress  may  be  finally  beneficial,  and 
it  is  evidently  the  design  of  his  Creator  to  lead  him  on  to 
perfection  by  slow  degrees,  and  from  a  low  origin.  At  all 
events  it  is  certain  that  every  human  being  possesses  a 

capacity  for  this  illimitable  improvement,  and  that  if  the 

9 


130 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


great  majority  of  mankind  are  to  continue  for  ever  ig’nor- 
ant,  vicious,  and  miserable,  this  capacity,  unlike  anything 
else  in  the  creation,  is  given  in  vain. 

And,  however  great  and  lamentable  the  present  errors 
and  imperfections  of  mankind  may  be,  yet  it  is  obvious 
that  they  have  made,  and  that  they  are  making,  a  gradual 
advancement  towards  a  better  state.  Already  they  have 
gained  much,  and  what  they  have  acquired  they  will  retain. 
Never  was  their  knowledge  so  varied  and  extensive  as  it  is 
at  present;  never  were  they  in  such  favourable  circum¬ 
stances  for  enlarging  and  perfecting  their  acquisitions.  In 
many  instances  we  at  present  recognize  such  a  liberality  of 
thinking  among  the  common  people  as  would  have  been 
sought  in  vain  a  few  years  ago,  in  the  most  enlightened 
philosophers ;  and  the  youth  now  commences  his  career 
where  the  aged  used  to  terminate  their  course.  It  is  im- 
possible  to  foresee  where  this  will  end ;  it  is  impossible  to 
predict  the  extent  to  which  this  improvement  may  be 
carried,  or  the  influence  it  mav  have  in  diffusing  an  enlight- 
ened  and  comprehensive  view  of  what  is  wise  and  just  in 
conduct,  in  checking  the  indulgence  of  gross  selfishness,  in 
controlling  the  turbulent  and  eradicating  the  malignant 
passions,  and  in  forming  virtuous  and  benevolent  habits. 

But  even  though  all  this  should  be  a  dream,  and  we 
should  be  obliged  to  admit  the  melancholv  conclusion  that 
error  and  misery  are  connected  by  an  indissoluble  bond 
with  the  present  state,  and  that  the  experience  of  the  past, 
and  the  discoveries  of  the  future,  will  avail  nothing’  to 
deliver  mankind  from  their  influence ;  yet,  if  there  be  a 
hereafter,  surely  it  is  more  reasonable  to  conclude  that 
these  disorders  will  cease  then,  that  the  discipline  under 
which  the  mind  will  be  placed  in  this  new  state  of  being 
will  correct,  not  increase  its  perversion,  and  that,  in¬ 
structed  by  experience,  and  purified  by  suffering,  it  will  at 
length  see  things  as  they  are,  and  estimate  them  as  it 
ought,  affording  to  its  faculties  their  proper  exercise,  and 
to  its  affections  their  proper  objects,  than,  that  its  errors 
will  continue  through  endless  ages,  or  till  they  have  effected 
its  utter  destruction. 

To  all  this  reasoning,  however,  which  should  seem  no 
less  solid  than  cheering,  it  has  been  objected  that  the 
fundamental  principle  upon  which  it  is  founded  is  not  just ; 


DESIGNS  OF  THE  CEEATOR  NEVER  DEFEATED. 


131 


that  the  strict  connection  which  it  supposes  between  the 
purpose  and  the  event  does  not  invariably  happen ;  that 
there  are  in  nature  adaptations  which  do  not  always  secure 
the  intended  result;  designs  which  are  not  completed,  and 
that  in  fact  there  are  many  cases  in  which  the  object  of 
nature  is  evidently  and  completely  defeated ;  that  every 
blossom,  for  example,  does  not  ripen  into  fruit,  nor  every 
embryo  attain  the  maturity  of  which  it  is  capable,  and  for 
which  it  was  obviously  designed ;  that  in  every  instance  of 
this  kind  there  is  as  great  a  failure  of  the  design  of  the 
Deity  as  can  well  be  imagined,  and  that  as  this  is  not  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  inconsistent  with  his  perfections,  so  there  may 
be  the  same  apparent  frustration  of  his  plan  with  regard  to 
human  beings,  without  any  impeachment  of  his  wdsdom  or 
goodness. 

To  this  objection,  which  is  much  more  ingenious  than 
solid,  two  answers  may  be  given.  In  the  first  place,  it 
may  be  replied,  that  though  all  analogical  reasoning  is 
founded  upon  a  comparison  of  the  lower  with  the  higher 
parts  of  creation,  and  of  the  higher  with  the  lower,  yet 
this  objection  supposes  that  comparison  to  be  carried  far¬ 
ther  than  it  can  justly  be  extended,  namely,  to  the  final 
destiny  of  creatures  of  different  orders.  Because  a  being 
of  an  inferior  order  terminates  its  existence  at  a  certain 
period,  and  with  certain  phenomena,  we  cannot  conclude 
that  a  being  of  a  superior  order  will  do  the  same.  A 
striking  conformity  between  a  particular  organization  in  a 
fly  and  a  man,  may  lead  to  the  conclusion,  that  that  organ¬ 
ization  is  designed  to  answer  a  similar  purpose  in  both. 
This  deduction  from  analogy  is  fair  and  conclusive.  But 
if,  because  at  a  certain  period  this  insect  changes  its  state, 
and  thereby  loses  for  ever  its  conscious  existence,  it  be 
inferred,  that  a  change  of  state  in  man,  in  many  respects 
similar,  is  also  attended  with  a  final  loss  of  conscious  ex¬ 
istence,  this  deduction  from  analogy  is  not  fair  and  conclu¬ 
sive  ;  because  there  may  be  something  in  the  nature  of  a 
being  possessing  the  faculties  of  a  man,  to  prevent  that 
change  from  being  final,  which  does  not  exist  in  an  insect 
possessing  only  the  properties  of  a  fly  :  being  already  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  the  fly  by  the  faculty  of  reason,  he  may 
possess  this  other  distinctive  property  of  surviving  his 
apparent  dissolution ;  or  their  common  Creator  may  have 


132 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


something  in  view,  by  appointing  the  change  in  the  one, 
which  he  mav  not  have  in  the  other.  The  analogy  to  this 
extent,  therefore,  does  not  hold;  but  to  this  extent  the 
objection  under  consideration  supposes  it  to  hold;  for  it 
supposes  that  human  beings  may  be  prematurely  destroyed 
because  the  rudiments  of  an  insect  or  vegetable  are  so. 
It  is  therefore  a  false  analogy. 

Another  very  important  view  may  be  taken  of  this  sub¬ 
ject.  Nothing  is  more  evident  than  that,  in  many  in¬ 
stances,  the  inferior  part  of  the  creation  is  made  chiefly,  if 
not  entirely,  for  the  use  of  the  superior.  The  vegetable 
world  is  formed  for  the  animal;  and  in  like  manner  to 
minister  to  the  convenience  and  comfort  of  the  higher,  ap¬ 
pears  in  many  cases  to  be  the  final  cause  of  the  existence 
of  the  lower  orders  of  the  animal  creation ;  and,  supposing 
these  lower  orders  to  be  at  the  same  time  happy,  as  far  as 
they  are  capable  of  being  so  (which  is  always  the  case), 
this  is  a  plan  of  admirable  wisdom  and  beauty.  Supposing’, 
for  example,  it  were  wise  and  good  in  the  Deity  to  give  to 
the  superior  animals  of  our  globe  their  present  constitution, 
a  constitution,  that  is,  to  the  support  of  which,  many  of 
the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  many  of  the  inferior  animals, 
are  necessary,  then  it  is  an  instance  of  wisdom  and  good¬ 
ness  to  make  such  a  provision,  that  these  fruits  and 
animals  shall  always  sufficiently  abound :  for  were  they 
from  any  cause  to  fail,  the  most  disastrous  consequences 
must  ensue  to  those  higher  orders,  for  which  chiefly  the 
inferior  exist.  Now,  the  only  way  by  which  it  seems  pos¬ 
sible,  by  a  general  law  (and  we  have  seen  that  it  is  by 
general  laws  that  the  Deity  executes  the  purposes  of  his 
government),  to  guard  against  such  a  calamity,  is  to  pro¬ 
vide  in  every  period  more  of  these  inferior  beings  than  is 
absolutely  necessary  at  any;  and  there  will  appear  the 
greater  wisdom  in  this  appointment,  when  it  is  considered 
that  beauty  and  enjoyment  will  be  multiplied  by  it  in  the 
exact  degree  in  which  the  superabundance  may  prevail. 
For  this  care,  therefore,  to  provide  for  possible  as  well  as 
actual  existence,  we  see  the  most  benevolent  reason ;  so 
that,  though  every  blossom  do  not  ripen  into  fruit,  nor 
every  embryo  develop  its  latent  faculties,  this  is  so  far 
from  being  a  proof  of  the  frustration  of  the  plan  of  the 
Deity,  that  it  is  directly  the  reverse;  since  the  super- 


PRODUCTIONS  OF  NATURE  NEVER  PERVERTED. 


133 


abundant  provision  is  the  very  means  lie  lias  adopted  to 
secure  liis  purpose.  Tliese  blossoms  and  embryos,  though 
they  perish,  fulfil  the  design  of  their  creation :  had  they 
been  necessary,  they  were  ready  to  ripen  into  maturity  to 
supply  the  want  which  might  exist ;  but  not  being  needed, 
they  read  an  instructive  lesson  to  the  intelligent  creation, 
saying  to  it — “Behold  the  never-failing  care  of  your 
Creator  to  secure  your  happiness  ! i}  and  then  are  seen  no 
more. 

In  the  second  place,  when  from  the  failure  of  the 
blossom,  and  the  destruction  of  the  embryo,  it  is  urged 
that  there  may  be  a  similar  loss  in  regard  to  human  beings, 
it  may  be  replied,  that  there  is  really  no  sort  of  parallel 
between  the  two  cases.  Every  blossom,  it  is  true,  does 
not  ripen  into  its  proper  fruit,  nor  every  embryo  grow  into 
a  perfect  animal,  yet  neither  is  any  blossom  or  embryo  per¬ 
verted  from  its  genuine  nature,  into  one  which  is  opposite. 
Every  blossom  of  an  apple  does  not  ultimately  form  an 
apple,  but  neither  does  it  become  a  poisonous  fruit :  every 
embryo  does  not  grow  into  a  perfect  animal,  but  neither 
does  it  degenerate  into  a  disgusting*  monster.  But  the 
doctrine  which  teaches  that  man  was  created  for  purity 
and  happiness,  but  that  he  will  continue  for  ever  vicious 
and  miserable,  and  that  which  teaches  that  he  will  remain 
so  for  unknown  ages,  and  then  be  destroyed,  not  only  sup¬ 
poses  that  he  does  not  attain  his  proper  nature,  but  that  it 
becomes  perverted  into  that  which  is  directly  opposite. 
It  supposes  what  never  takes  place,  what  is  not  only  not 
supported  by  any  analogy  of  nature,  but  what  all  analogy 
contradicts ;  it  supposes  a  change  infinitely  greater  than 
would  happen,  were  the  blossom  of  an  apple  to  fail  in 
forming  an  apple,  and  ripen  into  hemlock,  or  the  embryo 
of  a  lamb,  instead  of  producing  the  most  innoxious  of 
animals,  to  grow  into  an  adder.  Nothing  like  this  ever 
takes  place  in  any  of  the  works  of  God  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  :  it  is  reasonable,  therefore,  to  conclude,  that 
it  will  not  occur  in  his  highest  and  noblest.  Were,  this 
example  adduced  to  show  that  the  same  kind  of  failure 
might  take  place  among  human  beings,  that  those  human 
embryos,  for  instance,  which  never  see  the  light,  and 
those  infants  which  die  before  the  development  of  their 
faculties,  perish,  there  would  thus  far  be  some  analogy 


134  *  THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 

between  tlie  two  cases,  and  that  which  happened  to  the 
one  might  with  some  show  of  reason  be  supposed  to  befall 
the  other  ;  but  for  the  reasons  assigned,  in  the  first  answer 
to  this  objection,  the  conclusion  would  not  be  valid  even 
thus  far,  and  farther  than  this  it  could  not  possibly  go. 
To  argue  from  it  that  man,  whose  nature  fits  him  for  the 
attainments  of  an  ang’el,  not  onlv  falls  short  of  these  ac- 
quisitions,  but  degenerates  into  a  malignant  spirit,  is  alto¬ 
gether  gratuitous  :  there  is  no  analogy  between  the  one 
case  and  the  other. 

In  a  word,  both  the  doctrine  which  teaches  that  man 
will  go  on  to  sin  and  suffer  for  ever,  and  that  which  main¬ 
tains  that  he  will  do  so  for  unknown  ages,  and  then  be 
destroyed,  must  be  founded  either  upon  the  principle  that 
the  Deity,  when  offended,  is  not  to  be  appeased,  or  that 
man,  when  he  has  departed  from  the  path  of  rectitude,  is 
not  to  be  reclaimed.  No  one  will  venture  to  maintain 
that  the  Deity  is  unappeasable,  and  to  suppose  that  he  is 
unable  to  reclaim  his  offending  offspring,  is  equally  absurd. 

Indeed,  from  what  we  know  of  man’s  nature,  and  of  the 
adaptation  of  the  moral  government  of  his  Creator  to  it, 
we  can  clearly  perceive  how  he  may  be  reclaimed,  even 
from  the  lowest  depths  of  guilt. 

He  is  (to  repeat  what  has  so  often  been  said)  the  crea¬ 
ture  of  circumstance.  He  is  made  what  he  is,  entirely  by 
the  train  of  events  which  has  befallen  him.  The  powers 
with  which  he  is  endowed  have  been  called  into  action  by 
surrounding  objects,  and  the  nature  of  that  action  has 
been  determined  by  that  of  the  objects  which  have  induced 
it.  Had  the  situation  of  any  human  being  varied  in  the 
least,  there  must  have  been  a  proportionable  difference  in 
his  character. 

This  is  so  true,  that  any  being  who  had  entirely  in  his 
own  hands  the  direction  of  the  events  of  the  world,  and 
who  possessed  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  man, 
might  make  his  character  whatever  he  pleased.  There  is 
no  affection,  however  fixed,  which  he  mig'ht  not  change, 
no  habit,  however  inveterate,  which  he  might  not  eradicate. 
And  this  he  might  effect,  as  we  have  already  shown,  with¬ 
out  putting  the  least  constraint  upon  the  will,  or  making 
the  slightest  infringement  on  the  liberty,  of  the  moral 
agent :  for,  by  changing  his  circumstances,  he  might  alter 


CONTINUANCE  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT  HEREAFTER.  135 

liis  volition,  and  thus  excite  in  him  the  desire  to  do  or  to 
be  whatever  he  might  wish  him  to  accomplish  or  to  be¬ 
come. 

Now  this  direction  of  events,  and  this  knowledge  of 
character,  the  Deity  is  always  supposed  to  possess  in  a 
supreme  and  perfect  degree.  There  is  nothing  which  he 
does  not  know ;  nothing  which  he  cannot  accomplish. 
Suppose,  then,  it  is  his  will  to  reclaim  a  person  who  has 
lost  all  taste  for  goodness,  and  contracted  the  most  in¬ 
veterate  habits  of  vice.  The  reformation  of  such  a  being 
is  a  thing  in  itself  possible.  As,  then,  the  Deity  knows 
everything,  he  must  perceive  wliat  circumstances  will  be 
adequate  to  produce  the  requisite  change,  and  as  he  can 
do  everything,  it  must  be  in  his  power  to  cause  this  train 
of  events  to  happen.  Here,  then,  is  a  power  abundant- 
antly  adequate  to-  accomplish  whatever  may  be  necessary. 

That  this  formation  of  the  character  of  man,  by  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  in  which  he  is  placed,  is  perpetually  going  on, 
under  the  Divine  direction,  in  the  present  state,  is  acknow¬ 
ledged  on  all  hands,  and  constitutes  what  is  termed  the 
moral  government  of  God.  Now  the  defect  of  every 
scheme  but  that  which  it  is  the  object  of  this  reasoning  to 
establish,  is,  that  it  makes  the  operation  of  this  moral 
government  to  cease  with  the  present  state.  But  if  the 
wicked  are  to  exist  hereafter,  it  is  certain  that  thev  must 
be  placed  in  some  circumstances ;  these  circumstances 
must  have  some  effect  upon  their  minds,  and  the  nature  of 
that  effect,  whether  it  be  such  as  to  confirm  them  in  their 
vicious  course,  or  to  reclaim  them  from  it,  must  entirely 
depend  upon  the  constitution  of  these  circumstances.  It 
is  a  Being  of  perfect  wisdom  upon  whom  that  constitution 
depends.  Can  we  then  doubt  that  it  will  be  such  as  to 
secure  reformation,  and  not  confirmation  in  vice  ? 

Let  the  mind  then  seriouslv  consider  what  the  human 

V 

nature  is  :  that  it  is  capable  of  pure,  refined,  and  exalted 
happiness,  in  an  illimitable  degree ;  that  it  is  made  for  the 
enjoyment  of  this  felicity ;  that  its  benevolent  Author  ex¬ 
ercises  over  it  a  continual  government  which  tends  to  re¬ 
move,  and  which,  if  its  operation  continue,  must  ultimately 
remove,  all  that  is  opposed  to  it ;  and  determine  which 
scheme  is  most  probable,  that  which  teaches  that  the  great 
majority  of  mankind  shall  never  taste  of  happiness,  but 


136 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


suffer  the  most  intolerable  and  unremitted  anguish  during 
an  endless  being ;  or  that  which  affirms  that;  after  having 
endured  this  misery  for  unknown  ages,  they  shall  be  for 
ever  blotted  out  of  existence  :  or  that  which  maintains 
that  all  which  their  Maker  designed  concerning  them  shall 
come  to  pass ;  that  the  very  sin  and  suffering  which  afflict 
them  shall  be  the  means  of  working  out  their  final  purity 
and  happiness,  and  that  they  shall  accomplish  this  in  so 
excellent  and  perfect  a  manner,  as  triumphantly  to  prove, 
that  notwithstanding  all  our  present  difficulties  about  the 
existence  of  natural  and  moral  evil,  the  benevolent  Parent 

OF  MANKIND  HAS  ACCOMPLISHED  THE  BEST  END  BY  THE  WISEST 

means.  If  the  latter  opinion  be  indeed  favoured  by  these 
two  great  principles,  the  perfections  of  God  and  the  nature 
of  man,  its  truth  must  be  considered  as  established. 

If,  then,  we  could  go  no  farther,  the  arguments  which 
have  been  adduced  to  support  the  doctrine  of  the  ultimate 
restoration  of  all  mankind  to  purity  and  happiness,  appear 
sufficient  to  produce  a  rational  and  solid  conviction  of  its 
truth.  They  prove,  certainly,  that  it  rests  upon  much 
firmer  ground  than  either  of  the  doctrines  which  oppose 
it ;  and  when  in  connection  with  this,  the  doctrine  itself  is 
considered,  every  reflective  mind  must  surely  incline  to 
prefer  it.  ,  If,  then,  we  could  not  produce  another  argu¬ 
ment  in  support  of  it,  and  if,  on  examining  the  Scriptures, 
it  be  found  that  they  do  not  contradict  it  (supposing  they 
do  not  expressly  favour,  if  they  do  not  directly  confute  it), 
it  must  be  admitted  as  true,  because,  in  that  case,  there 
will  be  much  to  favour,  and  nothing  to  oppose  it.  But,  in 
point  of  fact,  reason  furnishes  us  with  still  more  conclusive 
arguments,  and  the  Scriptural  evidence  in  support  of  it  is 
decisive. 


'  PART  II.— CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  FAVOUR  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  UNIVERSAL 
RESTORATION,  FROM  THE  NATURE  AND  OBJECT  OF  PUNISHMENT. 

One  of  the  chief  objections  to  the  doctrine  which  it  is 
the  object  of  the  preceding  reasoning  to  establish,  is,  that 


NATURE  AND  OBJECT  OF  PUNISHMENT. 


137 


although  the  Deity  is  in  the  highest  degree  wise  and  good, 
yet  that  he  is,  at  the  same  time,  an  irreconcileable  enemy 
to  sin,  that  he  will  visit  it  with  the  punishment  it  deserves, 
and  that-  while  we  are  sure  that  that  punishment  must  be 
great,  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  its  exact  extent. 

If  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration  denied  this,  that 
circumstance  would  be  fatal  to  it,  whatever  might  be 
urged  in  its  favour ;  but  God’s  abhorrence  of  sin,  and  his 
determination  to  punish  it,  not  only  do  not  militate  against 
this  doctrine,  but  afford  the  most  powerful  arguments  in 
support  of  it. 

In  order  to  be  satisfied  of  this,  it  is  necessary  only  to 
establish  clear  and  precise  conceptions  concerning  the 
nature  of  divine  punishment.  What  is  the  meaning  of  this 
term  ?  It  lias  been  lately  defined  thus  :  Punishment  is  the 
conduct  of  God  with  respect  to  the  wicked ,  in  the  capacity  of 
a  judge. 

The  defect  of  this  account  is,  that  it  is  a  definition  which 
requires  a  definition ;  for  when  in  an  inquiry  concerning 
the  nature  of  divine  punishment,  it  is  said  that  it  is  the 
conduct  of  God  with  respect  to  the  wicked,  in  the  capacity 
of  a  judge,  we  must  inevitably  put  the  ulterior  question — 
What  is  the  nature  of  that  conduct  ?  Whence  another 
definition  must  be  given,  which  perhaps  may  require  a 
third. 

Let  the  following  definition  be  substituted  for  the  former  : 
Punishment  is  the  infliction  of  pain,  in  consequence  of  the 
neglect  or  violation  of  duty.  When  we  say  a  person  is 
punished,  we  mean  that  he  suffers  some  pain  or  privation, 
in  consequence  of  his  having  omitted  what  he  ought  to 
have  done,  or  of  his  having  done  what  he  ought  to  have 
avoided. 

Is  there  any  distinction  between  punishment  and  re¬ 
venge  ?  They  are  universally  believed  to  be  totally 
different  in  their  nature.  What,  then,  is  the  exact  differ¬ 
ence  between  them  ?  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
ascertain  this,  because  revenge  is  the  only  thing  with 
which  punishment  can  be  confounded. 

It  has  been  said  that  punishment  is  the  infliction  of 
pain  in  consequence  of  the  neglect  or  violation  of  duty. 
Let  us  then  say,  that  Revenge  is  the  infliction  of  pain,  in 
consequence  of  the  commission  of  injury.  The  neglect  of 


138 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


duty  seems  to  give  rise  to  punishment ;  the  commission  of 
injury  to  revenge.  But  since  the  commission  of  injury 
must  necessarily  be  resolved,  either  into  a  neglect  or  viola- 
tion  of  duty,  it  follows,  that  these  two  definitions  are 
exactly  the  same.  Either,  therefore,  the  definition  of 
punishment  must  be  defective,  or  that  of  revenge  must  be 
false ;  for  if  these  two  things  really  differ  from  each  other, 
it  is  impossible  that  the  same  definition  can  apply  to  both. 

We  purposely  made  these  definitions  defective,  in  order 
that  the  difference  between  punishment  and  revenge  might 
be  more  clearly  seen,  and  that  the  appearance  of  taking 
for  granted  the  point  in  dispute  might  be  avoided. 

It  is  necessary  to  add  to  the  former  definition  of  punish¬ 
ment,  the  words,  ((  With  a  view  to  correct  the  evil ;  ” 
and  to  that  of  revenge,  the  words,  “  With  a  view  to 
gratify  a  malignant  passion/' — These  definitions  will  then 
stand  thus  : 

Punishment  is  the  infliction  of  pain,  in  consequence  of  the 
neglect  or  violation  of  duty,  with  a  view  to  correct  the 

EVIL. 

Revenge  is  the  infliction  of  qoain,  in  consequence  of  the 
commission  of  injury,  with  a  view  to  gratify  a  malignant 

PASSION. 

That  the  pain  which  punishment  occasions  must  be  in¬ 
dicted  with  a  view  to  correct  the  evil  produced  by  the  neg¬ 
lect  or  violation  of  duty,  will  appear  perfectly  obvious,  by 
attending  to  the  exact  meaning  of  the  language  we  are  in 
the  habit  of  employing  on  this  subject.  What  do  we  mean 
when  we  say  that  we  neglect  or  violate  our  duty?  We 
mean  that  we  neglect  or  destroy  our  own  happiness,  or 
that  of  others.  When  we  neglect  or  destroy  our  own 
happiness,  or  that-  of  others,  we  produce  a  certain  degree 
of  misery.  This  is  wrong,  since  it  is  contrary  to  the  design 
for  which  we  exist,  which  is  to  communicate  and  to  enjoy 
happiness.  On  account  of  the  commission  of  this  wrong, 
punishment  is  inflicted ;  that  is,  another  portion  of  misery 
is  produced.  Who  causes  this  second  portion  of  misery  ? 
The  punisher.  Thus  far,  then,  the  punisher  and  the 
punished  are  on  the  same  footing  :  they  have  both  done 
exactly  the  same  thing  :  they  have  both  produced  misery. 
What,  then,  constitutes  the  difference  betwreen  them  ? 
The  violator  of  his  duty  deserves  punishment,  because  he 


CORRECTION  THE  OBJECT  OE  PUNISHMENT. 


139 


lias  done  that  which  either  has  produced,  or  which  tends 
to  produce,  misery  :  but  the  punisher  himself  has  done  ex¬ 
actly  the  same  thing,  that  is,  he  has  occasioned  pain ;  why 
then  is  he  not  worthy  of  punishment  for  the  yery  act  of 
punishing  ? 

The  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  design  with  which  the 
punisher  inflicts  the  pain  of  which  he  is  the  occasion.  He 
lias  in  yiew  the  restoration  of  the  offender  to  a  state  of 
feeling  and  action  indispensable  to  the  happiness  of  others, 
and  to  his  own.  He  produces  misery,  but  it  is  the  instru¬ 
ment  he  employs  to  destroy  it.  If  he  have  not  this  in 
yiew,  he  is  even  more  criminal  than  the  person  he  punishes, 
since  the  infliction  of  pain  is  the  only  thing  he  designs  :  he 
rests  in  it  as  his  end;  it  is  his  ultimate  object;  but  the 
vicious,  in  general,  produce  misery  only  incidentally, 
through  a  mistaken  and  perverted  pursuit  of  happiness, 
and  it  is  more  malignant  to  aim  solely  at  the  infliction  of 
pain,  to  rest  in  it  as  an  object  and  end,  than  to  occasion  it 
by  a  miscalculation  of  the  means  of  enjoyment.  It  is  this 
very  circumstance  that  it  rests  in  misery  as  its  ultimate 
object,  which  constitutes  the  extreme  malignity  of  revenge  ; 
and  it  does  not  seem  possible  to  show,  how  he  who  inflicts 
pain  on  an  o Sender,  from  any  other  motive  but  that  of 
correcting  the  evil  of  which  he  has  been  the  occasion,  acts 
upon  a  different  principle. 

V\  hen  it  is  said,  that  punishment  must  have  respect  to 
the  correction  of  the  evil  produced  by  the  violation  or 
neglect  of  duty,  it  should  be  observed,  that  this  is  meant 
to  include  both  the  evil  disposition  of  the  criminal  and  the 
evil  consequences  which  his  crimes  occasion.  That  cor¬ 
rection  is  evidently  imperfect  which  has  respect  to  the 
one,  but  not  to  the  other ;  which  aims  to  remove  the  injury 
done  to  society,  but  not  the  evil  principle  which  is  its 
source  :  or,  on  the  contrary,  the  evil  principle,  but  not  its 
injurious  consequences. 

Though  the  misconception  which  prevails  on  this  sub¬ 
ject  has  originated  chiefly  from  denvino*  the  corrective 
nature  of  punishment,  vet,  in  point  of  fact,  no  one  disbe¬ 
lieves  that  it  is  corrective.  Many  persons,  indeed,  deny 
it  in  express  terms,  and  much  of  their  reasoning  seems  to 
depend  upon  their  disbelief  that  it  has  any  tendency  of 
this  kind,  but  sometimes  they  strenuously  contend  for  the 


140 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


very  point  which,  at  others  they  labour  to  disprove. 
Though  they  affirm  that  punishment  is  not  corrective, 
what  they  mean  is,  that  it  does  not  amend  the  evil  disposi¬ 
tion  of  the  criminal :  they  acknowledge  that  it  corrects,  or 
is  designed  to  correct,  the  evil  consequences  of  his  offences. 
But  if  it  be  the  design  of  punishment  to  repair  or  to 
counteract  the  evil  effects  of  a  crime  to  societv,  it  is  in  its 
nature  corrective  :  if  the  reformation  of  the  criminal  form 
no  part  of  the  design,  it  is  not  so  corrective  as  it  would 
be,  were  that  the  case  :  but  it  is  certainly  corrective ;  and 
the  error  lies  in  supposing  that  punishment  is  intended  to 
correct  only  a  part  of  the  evil,  the  bad  consequences  of  a 
criminal  disposition,  but  not  the  criminal  disposition  itself. 

In  punishments  inflicted  by  human  beings  upon  one 
another,  it  is  often  difficult  to  effect  both,  as  indeed  it  is 
to  accomplish  either ;  but  it  is  universally  acknowledged, 
that  that  punishment  is  not  benevolent  which  does  not  aim 
at,  nor  that  effectual  which  does  not  secure,  both. 

And  surely  it  is  possible  to  render  every  penal  infliction 
thus  complete.  If  pain  or  privation  can  counteract  the 
evil  consequences  of  the  conduct  of  an  offender,  it  may  be 
so  applied  as  to  eradicate  his  evil  disposition.  He  who  is 
perfectly  acquainted  with  the  criminal  temper,  understands 
exactly  the  circumstances  which  would  change  it,  and  has 
a  sovereign  control  over  events,  has  the  power  to  correct 
it ;  and  if  he  punish  with  any  design,  it  is  inconceivable 
that  this,  which  is  not  only  the  most  benevolent  but  the 
most  necessary,  will  form  no  part  of  it. 

But  it  is  urged,  that  there  is  an  intrinsic  demerit  in  sin ; 
something  in  its  nature  which  requires  that  it  should  be 
visited  with  punishment;  that  it  is  possible,  therefore,  to 
punish  an  offender  without  a  view  to  correct  the  evil,  and 
without  revenge,  namely,  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  immut¬ 
able  and  eternal  justice. 

Before  replying  directly  to  this  objection,  it  may  be 
observed,  that  the  term  justice  is  often  used  as  though  it 
expressed  an  attribute  which  is  contrary  to  goodness.  But 
in  reality,  justice  is  only  a  particular  modification  of  good¬ 
ness  ;  goodness  modified  by  wisdom,  according  to  the 
moral  condition  of  the  being  with  respect  to  whom  it  is 
exercised.  A  person  who  forgives  an  offence  upon  repent¬ 
ance  and  reformation,  is  good :  this  is  one  modification  of 


JUSTICE  INFLICTS  PAIN  TO  PRODUCE  HAPPINESS.  141 

goodness,  which,  is  designated  by  tlie  term  mercy.  The 
person  who  visits  an  offence  which  is  neither  repented  of 
nor  amended,  with  a  proper  degree  of  pain,  is  also  good  : 
this  is  another  modification  of  goodness,  to  which  the  term 
justice  is  applied.  Mercy  and  justice,  therefore,  do  not 
differ  from  each  other  in  their  nature,  since  they  equally 
arise  from  benevolenee,  and  they  differ  in  aspect  only, 
according*  to  the  moral  condition  of  the  being*  with  regard 

O  #  0.0 

to  whom  they  are  exemplified.  So  that  justice  cannot 
require  the  infliction  of  misery  for  its  own  sake  :  nothing 
but  malignity  can  either  desire  or  approve  of  such  unavail¬ 
ing  suffering. 

Since  justice  and  mercy  equally  arise  from  benevolence, 
there  is  as  much  reason  to  suppose  that  mercy  requires 
the  infliction  of  misery  for  its  own  sake,  as  that  justice 
does.  The  object  of  justice  is  not  to  feast  itself  with 
suffering,  but  to  produce  happiness  by  the  infliction  of 
pain,  where  wisdom  teaches  it  is  necessary ;  the  object  of 
mercy  is  exactly  the  same,  only  it  pursues  its  purpose  by 
omitting  the  infliction  of  pain,  where  wisdom  shows  that 
it  is  not  necessary. 

There  is,  it  is  affirmed,  an  intrinsic  demerit  in  sin — ■ 
something  in  its  nature  which  requires  that  it  should  be 
visited  with  punishment.  What  is  that  something  ?  I 
think  we  may  venture  to  affirm,  that  no  one  can  imagine 
it  to  be  anything  but  the  tendency  of  sin  to  produce 
misery.  But  the  infliction  of  pain,  upon  that  which  has 
a  tendency  to  occasion  pain,  is  the  application  of  ail 
effectual  remedy  to  a  destructive  disease — not  the  visita¬ 
tion  of  suffering  upon  something  which  is  inexplicable, 
with  a  design  which  is  equally  incomprehensible. 

If  what  is  here  termed  demerit,  and  which  is  supposed 
to  be  something  intrinsic  in  sin,  require,  as  an  equitable 
satisfaction,  the  infliction  of  a  certain  degree  of  pain, 
without  aiming  at  the  reformation  of  the  offender,  or  the 
prevention  of  sin  in  future,  its  infliction  with  this  view 
alone  is  the  infliction  of  nothing  else  but  misery,  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  which  is  all  that  is  done  or  designed — a  remedy 
which,  as  has  just  been  observed,  is  more  malignant  than 
the  disease  itself.  It  is  vain  to  repeat,  that  the  object  in 
view  is  the  satisfaction  of  justice,  not  the  infliction  of  pain, 
for  this  is  to  reason  in  a  circle ;  it  is  to  say,  that  justice 


142 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


requires  that  sin  should  he  visited  with  pain,  on  account 
of  its  intrinsic  demerit,  and  then  to  argue,  that  there  is  an 
intrinsic  demerit  in  sin,  because  justice  requires  that  it 
should  be  visited  with  pain. 

It  seems  possible,  however,  to  go  much  further  in  reply 
to  this  objection,  and  to  show  that  the  term  demerit  is 
without  meaning,  upon  the  hypothesis  which  is  here 
assumed.  Let  us  attend  to  the  manner  in  which  we  come 
at  the  idea  which  the  word  expresses. 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  virtue,  and  there  is  such  a 
thing,  of  an  opposite  nature,  as  vice.  Such  is  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  man,  that  virtue  must  eventually  promote  his 
happiness,  and  vice  his  misery.  In  proportion  as  an  action 
partakes  of  the  nature  of  virtue,  it  is  said  to  coincide  with 
the  object  of  this  constitution,  and  to  merit  happiness. 
In  proportion  as  it  partakes  of  the  nature  of  vice,  it  is  said 
to  be  opposed  to  the  object  of  this  constitution,  and  to 
deserve  misery.  The  very  origin  of  this  word,  then,  leads 
us  to  a  moral  constitution,  which  can  have  no  object  but 
the  production  of  happiness  and  the  prevention  of  misery ; 
and  accordingly  we  find  that  the  degree  of  demerit  in  an 
action — that  is,  the  deg’ree  of  suffering  it  deserves,  is 
always  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  misery  it  tends 
to  produce. 

That  all  the  divine  punishments  are  corrective,  is  evi¬ 
dent,  likewise,  from  everything  which  we  see  or  know  of 
these  inflictions.  All  experience  is  in  favour  of  the 
doctrine  of  corrective  punishment,  and  against  that  which 
denies  it.  To  what  example  can  we  point,  where  misery 
is  connected  with  sin,  in  which  the  pain  has  not  a  tendency 
to  correct  the  evil  ?  Every  passion  of  our  nature  carried 
to  excess  is  criminal ;  every  passion  carried  to  excess  is 
painful.  This  pain  is  said  to  be  the  punishment  of  the 
passion,  now,  from  its  having  passed  the  bounds  of  modera¬ 
tion  and  justice,  become  criminal.  The  same  is  true  of 
every  evil  propensity  and  habit  whatever.  All  are  attended 
with  pain  or  inconvenience,  which  increases  in  proportion 
to  the  enormity  of  the  evil.  What  is  the  design  of  this 
constitution  ?  It  is  not  possible  to  mistake  it.  It  is  not 
in  our  power  to  assign  to  it  any  other  object  than  the 
correction  of  the  excess,  the  eradication  of  the  evil  pro¬ 
pensity,  the  change  of  the  evil  habit. 


ULTIMATE  OBJECT  OF  THE  DEITY  UNCHANGEABLE.  143 


If,  then,  in  the  very  constitution  of  our  nature,  we 

recognize  this  benevolent  design — if  our  own  hearts  punish 

us  for  all  our  deviations  from  the  path  of  rectitude,  and 

will  not  permit  us  to  be  at  peace  in  sin,  in  order  that  we 

may  continually  follow  after  virtue — can  we  suppose  that 

the  punishment  which  the  Deity  will  hereafter  inflict  upon 

his  erring’  creatures  will  have  no  such  tendencv — that  the 

«/ 

pain  which  he  makes  the  natural  consequence  of  trans¬ 
gression  is  purely  and  highly  corrective,  but  that  which  he 
himself  will  bring  upon  the  transgressor,  that  which  by 
his  own  direct  act  he  will  superadd,  will  not  be  so — and 
that,  instead  of  perfecting,  by  his  immediate  and  decisive 
interposals,  the  primary  object  of  the  constitution  of  his 
creatures,  he  will  totally  abandon  it,  and  pursue  one  of 
which  he  has  given  no  indication  in  their  nature,  and  to 
which  nothing  in  their  nature  tends  ? 

That  all  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  offenders  in  the 
present  state  is  corrective,  is  universally  acknowledged. 
Those,  therefore,  who  suppose  that  this  will  not  be  the  case 
in  a  future  world,  must  believe  that  the  Deity  will  hereafter 
punish  with  different  design  from  that  which  he  pursues  at 
present — that  he  will  change  the  object  and  end  of  his  in¬ 
flictions.  But  whv  will  he  do  so  ?  What  reason  can  there 

V 

be  to  believe  that  the  purpose  of  Him  who  changeth  not 
is  thus  mutable  ?  The  mode  and  the  measure  of  punish¬ 
ment  he  mav  vary ;  circumstances  may  require  it  of  his 
wisdom ;  but  his  great  and  ultimate  object,  like  his  own 
most  perfect  nature,  must  be  eternally  the  same. 

But  to  arguments  of  this  kind,  other  arguments,  tending 
to  establish  an  opposite  conclusion,  have  been  urged, 
which,  as  this  is  a  point  of  capital  importance,  it  may  be 
proper  to  notice.* 

Objection  1 .  It  is  admitted,  by  the  advocates  of  the  cor¬ 
rective  nature  of  punishment,  that  the  punishment  which 
will  be  actually  inflicted  on  the  impenitent,  whatever  be 
its  amount  ancf  duration,  is  the  curse  of  the  divine  law; 
but  the  punishment  which  leads  to  repentance  is  upon  the 

*  The  following  objections  and  reasonings  are  taken  from  the  celebrated  work 
of  Dr  Jonathan  Edwards,  entitled,  ‘-The  Salvation  of  all  Men  Strictly  Ex¬ 
amined,”  in  reply  to  Dr  Chauncy.  They  comprehend  all  which  any  one  can 
conceive  to  be  important  in  his  second  and  third  chapters,  in  which  various  con¬ 
siderations,  tending  to  prove  that  the  future  punishment  of  the  wicked  will  not 
be  conducive  to  their  personal  good,  are  urged  with  much  acuteness. 


144 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT, 


whole  no  evil,  and  therefore  no  curse,  because  by  the  sup¬ 
position  it  is  necessary  to  repentance,  and  to  prepare  for 
the  everlasting  joys  of  heaven.  Instead,  therefore,  of  being 
a  curse,  it  is  the  greatest  blessing  which  Omnipotence  it¬ 
self  can  bestow. 

Answer.  If  by  the  curse  of  the  divine  law  be  meant 
positive  and  absolute  evil,  it  is  true  that  there  is  no  curse 
annexed  to  the  divine  law ;  for  it  has  been  already  shown, 
that  there  is  no  absolute  evil  in  the  universe;  and  Mr 
Edwards  himself,  as  ardent  an  advocate  for  endless  misery 
as  his  son,  quotes  with  approbation  a  passage  in  which  the 
opinion,  that  under  the  divine  administration  there  is  no 
real  and  ultimate  evil,  is  asserted  in  express  terms.*  In  a 
most  important  sense  it  is  true,  that  the  punishment  which 
leads  to  repentance  is  upon  the  whole  no  real  evil,  and 
that  future  punishment,  as  it  is  necessary  to  produce,  and 
effectual  in  producing,  repentance,  and  in  preparing  the 
sinner  for  ultimate  happiness,  is  the  greatest  blessing 
which  Omnipotence  itself  can  bestow  ;  nevertheless,  it  may 
still  be  called  a  curse,  because,  in  the  language  of  Scripture, 
severe  and  protracted  suffering  is  often  so  denominated. 

Objection  2.  On  the  hypothesis,  that  future  punishment 
will  be  corrective,  it  follows  that  all  men  will  not  be  saved, 
because  deliverance  from  the  curse  of  the  law  is  essential 
to  salvation ;  but  if  the  curse  of  the  law  be  that  punish¬ 
ment  which  is  necessary  to  lead  to  repentance,  and  if  a 
great  part  of  mankind  will  suffer  this  punishment,  it  follows 
that  a  great  part  of  mankind  will  not  be  saved  ;  for  to  be 
saved,  and  yet  to  suffer  the  curse  of  the  law,  is  a  contra¬ 
diction.  Moreover,  a  deliverance  from  the  curse  of  the 
law  would  be  a  deprivation  of  the  greatest  good  which 
God,  in  their  present  temper,  can  possibly  bestow  upon 
the  wicked. 

Answer.  This  objection  is  entirely  verbal.  The  advocates 
for  the  corrective  nature  of  punishment  do  not  believe  that 
all  men  will  be  saved,  but  that,  sinners  having  been  re¬ 
claimed  by  the  discipline  through  which  they  will  be  made 
to  pass,  all  men  will  ultimately  be  rendered  pure  and 
happy.  Accordingly,  they  maintain  that  the  impenitent 
must  be  subjected  to  future  punishment,  for  the  very 
reason  assigned  in  the  objection,  that,  were  it  otherwise, 
*  Edwards  on  the  Will,  part  iv.,  sect,  ix.,  p.  370. 


PUNISHMENT  ALWAYS  A  BLESSING. 


145 


it  would  argue  a  defect  of  wisdom  and  goodness  in  tlieir 
moral  Governor,  since  it  would  be  to  withhold  from  them 
the  greatest  good  which,  in  their  present  temper,  he  can 
bestow  upon  them. 

Objection  3.  If  the  penalty  of  the  law  consist  in  that 
punishment  which  is  necessary  to  lead  to  repentance,  then 
all  upon  whom  it  is  inflicted,  when  brought  to  repentance, 
are  delivered  from  further  suffering — not  on  the  ground  of 
mercy  and  goodness,  but  of  justice.  They  have  satisfied  the 
divine  law.  If,  therefore,  they  are  not  immediately  released 
from  further  punishment,  they  are  injured  and  oppressed. 
Accordingly,  all  forgiveness  of  the  impenitent  is  impossible, 
since  forgiveness  implies  that  the  sinner  forgiven  is  not 
punished  according  to  law  and  justice;  but,  on  the  hypo¬ 
thesis  under  consideration,  all  who  suffer  future  punish¬ 
ment  are  punished  according  to  law  and  justice,  inasmuch 
as  they  endure  that  punishment  which  is  necessary  to 
repentance. 

Answer.  It  is  true,  that  all  who  suffer  future  punishment 
endure  the  penalty  of  the  law,  and  therefore,  in  a  popular 
sense,  cannot  be  said  to  be  forgiven.  It  is  true,  also,  that, 
after  they  have  suffered  all  the  punishment  annexed  to  the 
law,  any  further  punishment  of  them  would  be  unjust. 
Their  exemption  from  further  punishment  is,  therefore, 
without  doubt,  required  by  strict  justice ;  and  yet,  under 
the  divine  administration,  it  is  highly  improper  to  speak 
even  of  that  very  exemption  as  a  matter  of  right ;  for,  such 
is  the  nature  of  punishment  under  the  government  of  God, 
that  it  is  as  benevolent  a  provision  as  the  direct  and  im¬ 
mediate  bestowment  of  happiness.  It  is  not  only  the 
actual  communication  of  good,  but  the  communication  of 
good  in  the  form  best  calculated  to  secure  happiness.  The 
sinner  is  therefore  as  much  indebted  to  the  Creator  for  it, 
as  he  is  for  the  gift  of  life  itself,  and  for  that  constitution 
of  his  nature  which  renders  life  a  blessing.  When,  there¬ 
fore,  that  happy  period  shall  have  arrived,  when  punish¬ 
ment  shall  be  no  longer  necessary — when  it  shall  have 
accomplished  its  work — when  it  shall  have  eradicated  the 
disposition  to  evil,  and  have  produced  a  fitness  for  happi¬ 
ness,  instead  of  proudly  claiming  exemption  from  it,  the 
sinner,  with  unbounded  gratitude,  will  adore  and  bless  his 
benignant  Creator  for  having  inflicted  it.  He  will  perceive 

10 


148 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


that  it  was  the  wisest  and  kindest  provision  which  his 
heavenly  Father  could  possibly  have  made  for  his  happiness, 
and  with  the  profoundest  emotions  of  dutiful  obedience 
and  filial  love,  he  will  thank  him  for  it. 

The  punishment  inflicted  upon  the  sinner  being,  then, 
in  truth,  the  communication  of  good  to  him,  in  the  manner 
that  is  best  adapted  to  his  moral  state,  it  is  evidently  ab¬ 
surd  to  speak  of  his  claiming  exemption  from  it  as  a  matter 
of  right.  It  is  the  necessary  though  painful  means  to  a 
wise  and  benevolent  end,  and  it  will  cease,  of  course,  as 
soon  as  it  has  accomplished  its  end. 

This  view  of  punishment  is  truly  honourable  to  the  Deity 
— truly  calculated  to  win  the  most  obdurate  to  the  love 
and  adoration  of  him ;  while  that  view  of  punishment  which 
is  implied  in  the  objection  is  essentially  unjust,  because  it 
is  the  infliction  of  mere  pain — pain  that  answers,  and  that 
is  intended  to  answer,  no  beneficial  purpose,  which — as  it 
is  perfectly  inconsistent  with  goodness,  so  it  must  be 
totally  irreconcilable  to  justice. 

Objection  4.  If  the  only  just  end  of  punishment  be  re¬ 
pentance,  and  there  be  any  curse  of  the  law  at  all,  it  must 
be  repentance  itself. 

Answer.  The  curse  of  the  law  is  not  repentance,  but  the 
suffering  necessary  to  produce  repentance. 

Objection  5.  If  the  only  just  end  of  punishment  be  to 
lead  the  sinner  to  repentance,  and  to  promote  his  indi¬ 
vidual  good,  and  if  all  just  punishment  be  a  mere  discipline, 
necessary  and  wholesome  to  the  recipient,  then  punishment 
inflicted  for  any  other  end  is  unjust.  It  is  therefore  un¬ 
just  to  punish  a  sinner  on  account  of  any  contempt  of 
the  Deity,  any  opposition  to  his  design  and  to  his  cause, 
or  on  account  of  any  injury  which  he  may  do  to  his  fellow- 
beings,  excepting  so  far  as  he  injures  himself  at  the  same 
time. 

Answer.  Those  who  maintain  that  punishment  inflicted 
by  an  infinitely  wise,  powerful,  and  good  Being,  must  be 
corrective,  do  not  mean  that  it  must  correct  the  evil  dis¬ 
position  of  the  sinner  alone,  without  any  reference  to  the 
injury  done  to  the  system.  They  contend  that  perfect, 
goodness  must  aim  at  both — that  infinite  wisdom  must 
perceive  the  means  by  which  both  may  be  accomplished. 


VINDICTIVE  AND  CORRECTIVE  PUNISHMENT. 


147 


and  that  almighty  power  must  be  able  to  render  those 
means  effectual.  To  effect  one  end  alone,  while  both  are 
equally  possible  and  equally  necessary,  they  believe  to 
argue  an  imperfection  which  cannot  exist  under  the  divine 
administration.  It  is  just  to  punish  the  sinner  on  account 
of  contempt  of  the  Deity,  and  opposition  to  his  will,  both 
because  that  contempt  and  opposition  are  injurious  to  the 
sinner  himself  and  to  the  system,  and  it  is  the  proper  ob¬ 
ject  of  punishment,  to  repair  the  injury  done  to  both. 

Objection  6.  On  the  hypothesis,  that  all  punishment  is 
corrective,  it  must  be  maintained  that  vindictive  punish¬ 
ment  is  unjust ;  yet  at  the  same  time  it  is  admitted,  that 
the  punishment  actually  inflicted  is  in  the  highest  degree 
vindictive.  For  a  vindictive  punishment  is  that  which  is 
inflicted  with  a  design  to  support  the  authority  of  a  broken 
law ;  but  if  the  punishment  which  is  necessary  to  lead  the 
sinner  to  repentance  be  sufficient  to  support  the  authority 
of  the  divine  law,  and  be  inflicted  for  this  end,  as  is  ad¬ 
mitted,  it  is  to  the  highest  degree  vindictive,  and  design¬ 
edly  vindictive.  Those,  therefore,  who  allow,  that  as 
much  punishment  null  be  inflicted  on  the  sinner  as  satis¬ 
fies  the  demands  of  law,  while  they  mean  to  oppose  vin¬ 
dictive  punishment,  hold  it  in  the  fullest  sense. 

Answer.  A  law  is  a  rule  designed  to  regulate  the  con¬ 
duct  of  an  intelligent  being.  It  is  implied  in  its  very 
notion,  that  it  is  imposed  for  the  good  of  that  being ;  it 
exists  only  for  the  sake  of  that  good :  it  cannot,  therefore,, 
have  any  interest  or  demand  separate  from  or  opposed  to 
that  good.  Any  punishment  annexed  to  the  violation  of 
it  is  imposed  not  for  the  sake  of  the  law,  but  for  the  sake 
of  the  being  for  whose  welfare  the  law  is  instituted. 
Separate  from  that  being,  the  law  is  nothing;  separate 
from  his  welfare,  it  is  useless.  When,  therefore,  its  right, 
and  claim,  and  demand  are  spoken  of,  all  that  can  be 
meant  is,  that  its  sanction  ought  to  be  such,  and  so  cer¬ 
tainly  imposed,  as  to  secure  obedience ;  that  is,  to  secure 
the  welfare  of  this  being.  To  maintain  the  rights  of  the 
law,  then,  to  vindicate  its  claims,  to  satisfy  its  demands, 
and  to  promote  the  good  of  the  being  for  whose  welfare  it 
was  instituted,  must  be  identical.  If,  therefore,  by  vin¬ 
dictive  punishment  be  meant  that  which  is  inflicted  with  a 

10  * 


148 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


design  to  support  tlie  authority  of  the  divine  law,  vin¬ 
dictive  punishment  and  corrective  punishment  are  precisely 
the  same. 

Objection  7.  If  sin  deserve  no  other  punishment  than 
that  which  is  subservient  to  the  good  of  the  sinner,  it 
will  follow  that  sin  is  no  moral  evil ;  for  that  which  is 
subservient  to  a  person’s  good  is  no  real  evil;  but  moral 
evil  is  in  its  own  nature  odious;  hence  it  is  not  injurious 
to  the  perpetrator  of  moral  evil,  to  manifest  disapprobation 
of  his  conduct,  whether  such  manifestation  be  subservient 
to  his  good  or  not. 

Answer.  Moral  evil  is  in  its  own  nature  odious  only 
in  so  far  as  it  tends  to  produce  misery.  Punishment 
itself  is  the  infliction  of  misery.  To  punish  the  perpe¬ 
trator  of  moral  evil,  without  aiming  to  correct  his  evil 
disposition,  is  to  produce  a  certain  sum  of  misery  be¬ 
cause  a  certain  sum  of  misery  has  already  been  produced, 
and  to  do  no  more;  but  the  production  of  this  second  por¬ 
tion  of  misery,  with  this  design,  is  no  less  evil  than  the 
production  of  the  first.  Whereas,  if  punishment  be 
inflicted  on  the  perpetrator  of  moral  evil,  with  a  view  to 
correct  his  evil  disposition,  natural  evil  is  made  the  instru¬ 
ment  of  correcting  moral  evil.  On  this  supposition,  the 
actual  and  ultimate  sum  of  happiness  may  be  increased  by 
this  partial  and  temporary  prevalence  of  both,  and  there¬ 
fore  the  permission  of  both  may  be  consistent  with  perfect 
goodness. 

Objection  8.  If  the  only  just  end  of  punishment  be  to 
produce  repentance,  sin  immediately  followed  by  repentance 
deserves  no  punishment,  because  the  end  of  punishment  is 
already  obtained;  but  repentance,  though  it  is  a  renuncia¬ 
tion  of  sin  in  future,  makes  no  alteration  in  the  nature  of  the 
sin  which  is  past,  nor  is  it  any  satisfaction  for  that  sin. 
Neither,  if  the  correction  of  sin  be  the  only  proper  end  of 
punishment,  is  it  just  to  inflict  punishment  on  sin  as  sin. 
Whether  it  be  followed  by  punishment  or  not,  must  depend, 
not  on  its  own  proper  nature,  but  on  some  accidental  cir¬ 
cumstance,  as  whether  it  be  followed  by  impenitence,  or 
whether  it  be  persisted  in  ;  and,  if  it  do  not  deserve  pun¬ 
ishment  unless  it  be  persisted  in,  then  the  first  act  of  sin 
is  no  moral  evil ;  but  if  the  first  act  be  not  a  moral  evil, 
why  is  the  second,  the  third,  or  any  subsequent  act  ? 


DURATION  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 


149 


Answer.  Sin,  immediately  followed  by  sincere  repent¬ 
ance,  does  indeed  deserve  no  other  punishment  than  that 
which,  by  the  constitution  of  the  human  mind,  is  insepara¬ 
bly  connected  with  conscious  guilt,  because  the  end  of 
punishment  is  already  obtained.  It  has  been  shown  above, 
that  punishment,  under  the  divine  administration,  is  not  re¬ 
trospective,  but  prospective — has  no  respect  to  the  past, 
excepting  in  so  far  as  the  past  influences  the  future.  Re¬ 
pentance,  it  is  true,  makes  no  alteration  in  the  nature  of 
the  sin  which  is  past,  neither  does  any  punishment  which 
can  be  inflicted ;  nor  is  there  any  just  or  intelligible  sense 
in  which  satisfaction  can  be  made  for  sin,  which  does  not 
include  a  reformation  of  the  sinner.  Sin  is  no  otherwise 
sinful,  no  otherwise  a  moral  evil,  than  as  it  produces  pain ; 
and  the  only  proper  object  of  punishment  is  to  counteract 
that  tendency;  but  that  counteraction  is  as  complete  as  is 
possible,  as  soon  as  repentance  is  induced.  The  whole 
evil  of  sin  consists  in  its  tendency  to  produce  pain.  An 
action,  therefore,  is  sinful  in  proportion  as  it  has  that 
tendency ;  whence  the  demerit  of  sin  does  not  depend, 
as  the  objection  states,  on  some  accidental  circumstance, 
as  whether  it  be  persisted  in,  or  whether  it  be  the  first  act, 
and  so  on,  but  on  its  tendency  to  produce  pain. 

Objection  9.  If  future  punishment  be  merely  disci¬ 
plinary,  the  discipline  will  produce  its  effect  on  some, 
sooner  than  on  others.  The  discipline  of  the  present 
state  is  oftentimes  successful,  even  within  so  short  a 
period  as  three-score  years  and  ten  ;  we  may  therefore 
reasonably  conclude,  that  within  the  like  term  far  greater 
numbers  will  be  brought  to  repentance  by  the  more 
powerful  means  which  will  be  used  in  the  future  state. 
With  what  truth,  then,  can  the  wicked  be  threatened 
with  everlasting  punishment,  and  why  is  there  no  in¬ 
timation  given  that  there  will  be  a  difference  in  that 
duration  ? 

Answer.  The  words  employed  in  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
to  denote  the  duration  of  the  punishment  of  the  wicked, 
naturally  lead  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  will  be  protracted; 
but,  with  regard  to  the  actual  duration  of  it  to  any  indi¬ 
vidual,  or  to  any  number  of  individuals,  it  determines 
nothing.  The  Scriptures  have  drawn  a  veil  over  this,  as 
over  everything  that  relates  to  the  future  world,  which  is 


150 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


well  calculated  to  impress  the  mind  with  awe ;  but  no  ob¬ 
jection  can  be  fairly  urged  against  the  corrective  nature  of 
future  punishment,  because  the  Scriptures  enter  into  no 
detail  respecting  its  duration. 

Objection  10.  If  future  punishment  be  merely  disciplin¬ 
ary,  it  is  inflicted  without  any  necessity,  and  therefore 
must  be  a  wanton  exercise  of  cruelty ;  for  the  repentance 
of  sinners  might  be  easily  obtained  without  the  imposition 
of  dreadful  torments  for  ages  of  ages.  That  same  wisdom 
and  power,  which  lead  many  to  repentance  in  this  life, 
might,  by  similar  or  by  superior  means,  produce  the  like 
effect  on  all.  Or,  if  a  more  painful  discipline  be  necessary, 
a  more  painful  discipline  might  be  imposed ;  or  God  might 
exhibit  the  truth  with  such  clear  and  overwhelming  evi¬ 
dence,  as  inevitably  to  produce  conviction. 

Answer.  Such  a  discipline,  in  the  present  state,  as 
would  certainly  and  uniformly  secure  reformation,  or  such 
an  exhibition  of  the  truth  as  should  produce  a  universal 
and  influential  conviction  of  it,  is  possible ;  but  were  it 
adopted,  the  whole  system  of  things  must  be  changed. 
Such  a  discipline,  such  an  exhibition  of  the  truth,  are  ob¬ 
viously  incompatible  with  the  present  constitution  of  man, 
and  with  his  actual  relations.  But  it  has  already  been 
shown,  that  the  present  system  is  adopted  because  it  is 
upon  the  whole  the  wisest  and  best.  Future  punishment 
is  a  necessary  part  of  that .  system.  What  the  actual 
amount  and  duration  of  it  will  be  we  do  not  know.  With 
undoubting  confidence,  we  may  leave  it  to  the  determina¬ 
tion  of  that  wisdom  which  is  absolute,  and  of  that  goodness 
which  is  perfection^  Absolute  wisdom — perfect  goodness, 
we  may  be  assured,  will  inflict  no  more  than  is  indispensa¬ 
bly  necessary.  The  infliction  of  so  much  misery  for  so 
much  misery,  which  is  all  that  punishment  can  be,  if  it  be 
not  corrective,  is  indeed  wanton  cruelty,  and  is  therefore 
inconsistent  with  the  attributes  of  the  moral  Governor 
of  the  world;  but  the  infliction  of  a  certain  degree  of 
misery,  in  order  to  produce  an  immeasurable  degree  of 
happiness,  is  compatible  with  the  highest  wisdom  and  the 
most  perfect  goodness. 

Objection  11.  It  is  implied,  in  the  very  idea  of  a  disci¬ 
plinary  punishment,  that  it  is  consistent  with  the  divine 
perfections  to  subject  a  sinner  to  misery  for  his  own  good. 


ENDLESS  MISERY  INCONSISTENT  WITH  JUSTICE.  151 


Why,  then,  is  it  not  equally  consistent  with  those  perfec¬ 
tions  to  subject  him  to  misery  for  the  sake  of  promoting 
the  good  of  the  system,  provided  that  misery  do  not  exceed 
the  demerit  of  the  subject  ?  If  the  punishment  of  the 
sinner  may  lead  him  to  repentance,  so  it  may  lead  other 
sinners  to  repentance,  or  it  may  restrain  them  from  sin,  and 
in  a  variety  of  ways  may  as  much  subserve  the  good 
of  those  who  are  not  the  subjects  of  punishment  as  of 
him  who  is.  And  that  the  good  of  other  persons  may 
be  of  equal,  nay,  of  far  greater  importance  to  the  sys¬ 
tem,  than  the  good  of  the  transgressor  himself,  cannot  be 
denied. 

Answer.  This  argument  assumes  that  the  infliction  of 
endless  misery  for  the  crimes  of  a  few  years  is  consistent 
with  justice ;  but  that  this  assumption  is  false,  will  be  shown 
in  the  chapter  on  the  justice  of  God;  and,  if  false,  the  argu¬ 
ment  on  which  it  is  founded  is  of  course  fallacious.  More¬ 
over,  it  is  not  just  to  argue,  that,  because  it  is  consistent 
with  the  divine  perfections  to  subject  a  sinner  to  misery  for 
his  own  good,  it  is  equally  so  to  subject  him  to  misery  for  the 
sake  of  promoting  the  good  of  the  system,  because  this  im¬ 
plies  that  the  good  of  the  individual  and  of  the  system  is 
incompatible,  whereas  it  is  identical.  In  the  fair  and 
glorious  system  of  creation,  designed  by  infinite  goodness, 
arranged  by  unerring  wisdom,  and  effected  by  almighty 
power,  the  exquisite  and  endless  misery  of  the  majority  is 
not  made  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the  minority,  but 
the  happiness  of  the  whole  is  secured  by  the  ultimate  hap¬ 
piness  of  every  individual.  That  the  happiness  of  the 
whole  is  as  possible  as  the  happiness  of  a  few,  and  that  a 
system  in  which  the  ultimate  happiness  of  the  whole  is  se¬ 
cured  is  more  excellent  and  perfect  than  that  in  which  the 
majority  are  rendered  endlessly  miserable,  cannot  be  denied ; 
we  ought  therefore  to  suppose  that  the  former  is  the  sys¬ 
tem  which  the  Deity  has  adopted,  because  it  is  the  most 
worthy  of  his  attributes.  The  latter  is  not  worthy  of  those 
attributes;  it  is  not  compatible  with  them.  It  is  inconsist¬ 
ent  with  goodness,  to  give  existence  to  any  creature, 
without  making  that  existence,  upon  the  whole,  a  good  to 
him  ;  consequently,  though  it  be  just  to  subject  the  sinner 
to  misery  for  his  own  good,  yet  it  is  alike  irreconcilable  to 
justice,  and  to  goodness,  to  subject  him  to  misery  for  the 


152 


THE  DIYIXE  GOYEENMENT. 


sake  of  promoting  tlie  good  of  tke  system,  unless  tlie 
balance  of  happiness,  upon  tlie  whole,  the  whole  of  his  ex¬ 
istence  considered^  be  in  his  favour.  It  is  perfectly  consist¬ 
ent  with  justice  and  benevolence;  to  promote  the  good  of 
the  system;  by  any  disposition  whatever;  of  any  number  of 
creatures;  provided  they  enjoy;  upon  the  whole;  more  than 
they  suffer ;  but  any  disposition  of  them;  for  any  purpose; 
which  renders  it  necessary  that  they  should  suffer  more 
than  they  enjoy;  is  a  plain  violation  of  rectitude ;  be¬ 
cause  non-existence  is  no  evil;  but  existence  with  a  pre¬ 
ponderance  of  misery  is ;  and  an  intelligent  being;  who 
acts  voluntarily;  and  who  gives  existence  to  any  creature; 
knowing  that  it  will  be;  upon  the  whole;  an  evil  to  him; 
performs  as  malignant  an  act  as  can  be  conceived.  And  if 
this  be  true;  though  but  one  creature  suffer;  upon  the 
whole;  a  preponderance  of  misery,  what  language  can  ex¬ 
press,  what  imagination  can  conceive,  the  imperfection  in 
which  all  the  attributes  of  the  Creator  are  involved,  upon 
the  scheme,  that  he  brought  into  existence  the  great  ma¬ 
jority  of  mankind,  with  the  design  of  afflicting  them  with 
unutterable  torments  through  endless  ages,  in  order  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  comparatively  a  few  !  It  is  a 
scheme  as  unworthy  of  the  wisdom,  as  it  is  incompatible 
with  the  goodness,  of  the  great  Parent  of  mankind. 

Thus,  the  more  this  subject  is  investigated,  the  more 
clear  and  overwhelming  the  evidence  becomes,  that  pun¬ 
ishment,  under  the  divine  administration,  is  corrective ; 
and,  if  this  position  be  established,  the  whole  controversy 
is  decided. 

The  inferences  deducible  from  the  preceding  observa¬ 
tions  throw  upon  this  subject  a  light  and  glory  which 
render  it  an  object  of  gratifying  as  well  as  of  impressive 
contemplation. 

If  the  punishment  which  the  Deity  inflicts  be  corrective, 
it  follows  that  no  punishment  can  be  without  end ;  for  a 
punishment  which  is  both  corrective  and  endless  is  a  con¬ 
tradiction  in  terms. 

If  all  punishment  be  corregtive,  it  follows  that  no  more 
punishment  than  is  absolutely  necessary  to  produce  re¬ 
formation  will  be  imposed;  for  he  who  endeavours  to 
correct  an  evil  will  accomplish  his  object  as  speedily,  and 
with  as  little  loss  of  happiness,  as  possible. 


NECESSARY  PUNISHMENT  CERTAIN. 


153 


If  all  punishment  be  corrective,  it  follows  that  as  much 
as  is  necessary  to  eradicate  sin  will  be  inflicted.  This  to 
the  sinner  is  a  most  alarming  consideration.  God  cannot 
inflict  infinite  misery  upon  a  finite  being ;  but  we  know 
not  to  how  great  an  extent,  within  the  limit  of  finiteness, 
it  may  be  just,  and  right,  and  necessary  to  impose  it.  Of 
all  the  truths  which  can  occupy  the  attention  of  human 
beings,  this  certainly  is  the  most  momentous.  If  there  be 
certainty  in  religion,  or  truth  in  God,  he  who  in  the  pre- 
*  sent  state  neglects  the  improvement  of  his  privileges, 
indulges  evil  habits,  lives  in  sin,  and  dies  in  impenitence, 
must  in  a  future  world  endure  an  anguish  of  which  at 
present  he  can  form  no  adequate  conception.  It  is  reason¬ 
able  to  believe  that  this  must  be  the  case ;  for  the  bitter 
consciousness  of  self-degradation,  and  the  horror  of  deep 
remorse,  must  be  felt,  and  we  require  to  know  no  more,  to 
be  assured  that  the  sensation  must  be  intolerable.  Such 
is  the  dictate  of  reason  ;  the  declarations  of  Scripture  con¬ 
firm  it.  They  describe  the  punishment  of  obstinate  and 
unrepentant  guilt  as  a  fearful  looking  for  of  wrath,  trea¬ 
sured  up  against  the  day  of  wrath.  It  is  the  worm  that 
dieth  not;  it  is  a  fire  that  is  not  quenched.  It  is  the  worm 
of  remorse,  preying  with  incessant  avidity  upon  an 
awakened  conscience  ;  it  is  the  fire  of  tumultuous  passions, 
which  cannot  be  quenched  till  it  has  consumed  the  evil  of 
the  heart  which  has  indulged  them.  Though  justice  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  thy  throne,  thou  art  terri¬ 
ble,  0  Lord,  in  thy  chastisements ;  for  terrible  is  the  evil 
with  which  thou  art  at  war,  and  which  it  is  the  design  of 
thy  benevolent  chastisement  to  eradicate.  “  Let,  then,  the 
wicked  man  forsake  his  ways,  and  the  unrighteous  man 
his  thoughts,  and  let  him  turn  unto  the  Lord,  who  will 
have  mercy  upon  him,  and  unto  our  God,  who  will  abund¬ 
antly  pardon  him.-” 


154 


PART  THIRD. 

OF  THE  OBJECTIONS  WHICH  ABE  URGED  AGAINST  THE  DOC¬ 
TRINE  OF  UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION,  WHETHER  DERIVED  FROM 
THOSE  PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE,  OR  FROM  THOSE  REASON¬ 
INGS,  WHICH  ARE  SDPPOSED  TO  PROVE  THE  DOCTRINE  OF 
ENDLESS  MISERY,  OR  FROM  THOSE  WHICH  ARE  CONCEIVED  . 
TO  FAVOUR  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  LIMITED  PUNISHMENT,  TERM¬ 
INATED  BY  DESTRUCTION. 

Having  considered  those  arguments  in  favour  of  the 
opinion,  that  purity  and  happiness  will  ultimately  and  uni¬ 
versally  prevail,  which  appear  to  be  in  a  great  measure 
independent  of  the  testimony  of  revelation,  it  would  now 
be  proper  to  examine  the  evidence  which  the  Scriptures 
afford  in  support  of  it.  But,  as  many  objections  to  this 
doctrine,  commonly  deemed  insuperable,  are  derived  from 
the  language  of  Scripture,  it  is  necessary  to  consider,  in 
the  first  place,  the  validity  of  the  testimony  which  it  thus 
seems  to  bear  against  it ;  otherwise,  the  evidence  which  it 
really  affords  in  its  favour  will  not  have  its  just  weight 
upon  the  mind. 

The  chief  objections  to  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restora¬ 
tion  are  derived  from  two  sources ;  from  certain  passages 
of  Scripture,*  and  from  certain  reasonings  which  are 
supposed  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery,  and 
from  certain  expressions  which  are  conceived  to  favour 
the  doctrine  of  Limited  Punishment,  terminated  by  De¬ 
struction.  It  will  be  proper  to  consider  each  separately. 


PART  III.— CHAPTER  I. 

OF  ENDLESS  MISERY. 

The  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery  teaches,  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  first  man,  God  brings  the  whole  human 

*  See  note  B,  Appendix. 


DOCTRINE  OF  ENDLESS  MISERY  EXPLAINED. 


1 55 

race  into  existence  with  an  innate  propensity  to  evil ;  * 
that,  to  counteract  this  fatal  tendency,  in  favour  of  a  few 
individuals,  termed  the  elect,  he  especially  interposes, + 
irresistibly  influencing  them  to  avoid  whatever  might 
endanger  their  salvation,  and  to  do  what  is  necessary  to 
secure  it ;  J  that  the  great  majority  of  his  creatures, 
termed  the  non-elect,  he  leaves  to  the  operation  of  a 
nature  which  must  inevitably  ensure  their  ruin ;  §  that  for 
these  unhappy  beings  he  does  not  interpose ;  ||  that  he 
abandons  them  to  endless  and  inconceivable  misery,^  and 
that  from  all  eternity  he  appointed  them  to  this  dreadful 
destiny,  by  an  irreversible  decree  determining  them  to  con¬ 
demnation.  ** 

The  most  execrable  tyrant  that  ever  desolated  the 

*  “  The  sinfulness  of  that  estate  whereinto  man  fell  consisteth  in  the  guilt  of 
Adam’s  first  sin — the  want  of  that  righteousness  wherein  he  was  created,  and 
the  corruption  of  his  nature,  whereby  he  is  utterly  indisposed,  disabled,  and  made 
opposite  unto  all  that  is  spiritually  good,  and  wholly  inclined  to  all  evil,  and 
that  continually.”  —Assembly’ s  Larger  Catechism ,  quest,  xxv. 

f  “  By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  his  glory,  seme  men  are 
predestinated  unto  everlasting  life,  and  others  fore-ordained  to  everlasting  death. 
Those  of  mankind  that  are  predestinated  unto  life,  God,  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world  was  laid,  according  to  his  eternal  and  immutable  purpose,  and  the  secret 
counsel  and  good  pleasure  of  his  will,  hath  chosen  in  Christ,  unto  everlasting 
glory,  out  of  his  mere  free  grace  and  love,  without  any  foresight  of  faith  or  good 
works,  or  any  other  thing  in  the  creature,  as  conditions  or  causes  moving  him 
thereunto,  and  all  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace.” — Confession  of  Faith,  chap, 
iii. — “All  those  whom  God  hath  predestinated  unto  life,  axd  those  only,  he  is 
pleased,  in  his  accepted  time,  effectually  to  call.” — Ibid.,  chap.  x. 

+  “  They  whom  God  hath  effectually  called,  can  neither  totally  nor  finally  fall 
away  from  the  state  of  grace,  hut  shall  certainly  persevere  therein  to  the  end, 
and  be  eternally  saved.  This  perseverance  of  the  saints  depends  not  upon  their 
own  free  will,  hut  upon  the  immutability  of  the  decree  of  election,”  &c. — Ibid., 
chap.  xvii. 

§  “  Others  not  elected,  although  they  may  be  called  by  the  ministry  of  the 
word,  and  may  have  some  common  operations  of  the  Spirit,  yet  they  never  truly 
come  to  Christ,  and  therefore  cannot  be  saved  ;  much  less  can  men  not  profess¬ 
ing  the  Christian  religion  be  saved  in  any  other  way  whatsoever,  be  they  never 
so  diligent  to  frame  their  lives  according  to  the  light  of  nature,  and  to  the  law 
of  that  religion  they  do  profess  ;  and  to  assert  and  maintain  that  they  may,  is 
very  pernicious,  and  to  be  detested.” — Ibid.,  chap.  x. 

||  “  These  men  thus  predestinated  and  fore-ordained,  are  particularly  and  un¬ 
changeably  designed,  and  the  number  is  so  certain  and  definite  that  it  cannot  be 
either  increased  or  diminished.” —  Ibid.,  chap.  iii. 

“  The  punishment  of  sin  in  the  world  to  come,  are  everlasting  separation 
from  the  comfortable  presence  of  God,  and  most  grievous  torments  in  soul  and 
body,  without  intermission,  in  hell-fire  for  ever.” — Assembly' s  Catechism,  quest, 
xxix. 

**  “By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  his  glory,  some  men  are 
fore-ordained  to  everlasting  death.” — Confession  of  Faith,  chap. 'iii. 


156 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


world  is  benevolence  itself,  compared  witb  the  character 
which  this  tremendous  doctrine  gives  to  the  benevolent 
Parent  of  the  human  race.  If  it  be  true,  God  is  not  good; 
for  it  has  already  been  proved,  that  in  giving  existence 
to  sensitive  creatures,  a  benevolent  being  must  make  it 
upon  the  whole  a  blessing.  No  creature,  it  is  admitted, 
has  a  right  to  existence  :  it  is  a  boon  to  which  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  that  there  could  have  been  a  previous  claim ;  but, 
being  bestowed,  justice  as  well  as  benevolence  requires 
that  it  should  be  rendered,  upon  the  whole,  a  good.  How¬ 
ever  low  an  individual  may  be  placed  in  the  scale  of  being, 
or  whatever  pain  may  be  mingled  in  his  lot,  if  the 
balance  of  happiness  be  in  his  favour,  he  can  ask  no  more ; 
his  great  inalienable  right  is  respected ;  it  is  his  duty  to 
submit  to  the  evil  with  resignation,  and  to  accept  the  good 
with  gratitude :  but  if  the  balance  of  pleasure  be  against 
him,  he  has  cause  to  murmur,  and  the  Being  who  gave 
him  life  upon  such  terms  is  not  good,  nor  can  any  sophistry 
prove  him  to  be  so. 

Were  it  possible  for  benevolence  to  reside  in  the  bosom 
of  a  being  who  could  decree  the  intolerable  and  unending 
anguish  of  millions  and  millions  and  millions  of  his  crea¬ 
tures,  it  might,  indeed,  be  inferred,  that  the  God  of  elec¬ 
tion  is  good  to  the  elect ;  but  to  the  non-elect  he  is  not 
good  ,  he  never  was,  and  he  never  intended  to  be.  He 
gave  them  existence  with  a  determination  to  make  it  an 
everlasting:  curse ;  *  he  brought  them  into  being  not  to 
enjoy,  for  against  that  he  passed  a  decree  which  no 

6  To  say  that  it  is  not  God’s  decree,  but  man’s  own  sin  which  renders  him 
miserable  for  ever,  is  trifling  in  the  extreme ;  for  since  God  is  his  Creator,  he 
must  be  the  author  of  that  nature  which  he  brings  with  him  into  the  world ;  so 
that  if  it  be  utterly  indisposed,  disabled,  and  made  opposite  unto  all  that  is 
spiritually  good,  and  wholly  inclined  to  all  evil,  and  that  continually,  it  is  such 
only  in  consequence  of  his  Creator  having  been  pleased  to  make  it  so.  The  cir¬ 
cumstances  in  which  mankind  are  placed  are  likewise  entirely  God’s  appoint¬ 
ment.  He  is,  then,  the  author  of  their  nature,  such  as  it  is,  when  they 
commence  the  career  of  life,  and  of  the  circumstances  which  call  their  pro¬ 
pensities  into  action  ;  both  that  nature  and  these  circumstances  are  such,  that 
the  ultimate  result  could  not  possibly  be  otherwise  than  it  is.  “  God’s  de¬ 
crees  are  the  wise,  free,  and  holy  acts  of  the  counsel  of  his  will,  whereby 
from  all  eternity  he  hath,  for  his  own  glory,  unchangeably  fore-ordained  what¬ 
soever  conies  to  pass.” — Assembly's  Catechism ,  quest,  xii.  He  wills  the  pro¬ 
pensity  ;  he  wills  the  means ;  and  he  so  adapts  the  means  to  the  propensity, 
and  the  propensity  to  the  means,  as  inevitably  to  secure  the  end;  and  to 
affirm,  therefore,  that  he  does  not  will  the  end ,  is  utterly  absurd. 


DOCTRINE  OF  ENDLESS  MISERY  EXAMINED. 


157 


power  in  eartli  or  heaven  can  resist,  but  to  suffer,  through 
the  ages  of  eternity,  unremittecl  and  intolerable  anguish.  ' 

Were  there  in  the  nature  of  the  Deity  not  the  least  por¬ 
tion  of  benevolence ;  instead  of  being,  as  it  is,  pure  be¬ 
nignity,  were  it  unmixed  evil,  it  could  not  be  worse  for  the 
great  majority  of  his  creatures  than,  according  to  this 
terrible  doctrine,  it  actually  is.  At  present,  indeed,  they 
enjoy  some  degree  of  pleasure,  but  it  is  only  sufficient,  in 
the  awful  period  of  futurity,  to  carry  their  misery  to  the 
highest  pitch,  by  enabling  them  to  comprehend  their 
eternal  loss  ;  and,  accordingly,  the  bitterest  anguish  of  the 
damned  is  usually  represented  'as  arising  from  collections 
of  the  present  state — collections  of  happiness  once  partici¬ 
pated  with  delight,  but  now  departed  for  ever. 

Were,  then,  the  Deity,  instead  of  being  pure  benevolence, 
malignant  as  malignity  itself,  and  had  he  engaged  in  the 
work  of  creation  on  purpose  to  gratify  his  malevolent  pro¬ 
pensities,  he  could  not,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  have  contrived 
a  plan  better  calculated  to  effect  his  purpose,  than  that 
which  this  doctrine  teaches  he  actually  Las  adopted,  with 
regard  to  the  great  majority  of  his  creatures. 

Can  any  person  look  into  his  own  heart,  and  read  the 
proofs  which  are  registered  there  of  the  most  excellent 
and  lovely  character  of  the  Creator,  without  feeling-  disgust 
and  horror  at  a  doctrine,  which  thus  enshrouds  Him  in  the 
deep  and  awful  gloom  of  cruelty  and  malevolence  ? 

It  is  affirmed  that  there  are  passages  of  Scripture  which 
in  the  most  express  and  positive  manner  assert  the  truth  of 
this  opinion,  and  others  which  imply  it.  This  is  not  true  : 
but  there  are,  it  must  be  admitted,  passages  which,  to  the 
English  reader,  may  seem  to  favour  it.  These  deserve  se- 
rious  and  impartial  examination.  Let  us  bring  to  the 
investigation  of  them  unprejudiced  and  candid  minds  will¬ 
ing  to  ascertain  the  truth. 


158 


PART  III. 

CHAPTER  I. — Section  I. 

OF  THE  TERM  EVERLASTING. 

In  favour  of  tlie  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery,  the 
following  passages  are  quoted,  and  are  generally  deemed 
decisive.  Isaiah  xxxiii.  1-1  :  “  The  sinners  in  Zion  are 

afraid ;  fearfulness  hath  surprised  the  hypocrites.  Who 
among;  us  shall  dwell  with  the  devouring;  fire  ?  Who 
among  us  shall  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  ?  ” 
Dan.  xii.  2  :  “And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust 
of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and 
some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt.”  Matthew  xviii. 
8  :  “  Wherefore  if  thy  hand  or  thy  foot  cause  thee  to 
offend,  cut  them  off  and  cast  them  from  thee  :  it  is  better 
for  thee  to  enter  into  life  halt  or  maimed,  rather  than  hav¬ 
ing  two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  everlasting  fire.” 
Matt.  xxv.  41  :  “  Then  shall  he  say  also  to  them  on  the 

t / 

left  hand,  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.”  Yer.  46  :  “These 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,  but  the  right¬ 
eous  into  life  eternal.”  Mark  iii.  29  :  “  But  he  that  shall 
blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  never  forgiveness, 
but  is  in  danger  of  eternal  damnation.”  2  Thess.  i.  7 — 9  : 
“  The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his 
mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them 
that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting 
destruction,  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  from  the 
glory  of  his  power.”  Rev.  xiv.  11  :  “  The  smoke  of  their 
torment  goeth  up  for  ever  and  ever.”  xix.  3  :  “  The 
smoke  goeth  up  for  ever  and  ever.”  xx.  10  :  “They  (the 
beast  and  false  prophet)  shall  be  tormented  day  and  night 
for  ever  and  ever.”  2  Peter  ii.  17,  Jude  13  :  “To- whom 
the  blackness  of  darkness  is  reserved  for  ever.”  Jude  6, 
7  :  “And  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but 
left  their  own  habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting 
chains,  under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great 


SCRIPTURE  MEANING  OF  “  EVERLASTING”  AND  “ETERNAL.' ”  159 


day.  Even  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  and  tlie  cities  about 
them  in  like  manner,  giving  themselves  over  to  fornication 
and  going  after  strange  flesh,  are  set  forth  for  an  example, 
suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire.” 

These,  I  believe,  are  all  the  passages  in  the  Bible  in 
which  the  terms  everlasting  and  eternal  are  used  in  re¬ 
lation  to  future  punishment ;  and  it  is  obvious,  that  they 
are  very  few  compared  with  what  is  commonly  supposed. 
From  the  frequency  with  which  they  are  generally  repeated, 
persons  imagine  that  the  Bible  is  full  of  expressions  of 
this  kind  ;  yet  they  occur  twice  only  in  the  Old  Testament. 
In  the  Gospel  of  Luke  they  are  not  to  be  found,  and  they 
occur  but  once  in  that  of  Mark.  St  John  does  not  once 
employ  them,  either  in  his  Gospel  or  in  his  Epistles,  and 
they  will  be  sought  in  vain  in  the  account  of  the  preaching 
of  the  apostles,  in  all  their  discourses  which  are  upon 
record,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  Acts.  Though 
the  writings  of  the  Apostle  Paul  form  so  large  a  portion  of 
the  New  Testament,  yet  he  never  uses  any  language  of 
this  kind,  except  in  one  single  instance,  and  then  his  ex¬ 
pression  is,  everlasting  destruction.  Such  words  are  no¬ 
where  to  be  found  in  the  Epistle  of  James,  and  they  are 
totally  absent  from  the  Epistles  of  Peter. 

The  truth  of  the  doctrine  cannot,  however,  be  supposed 
to  depend  upon  the  frequency  with  which  it  is  repeated. 
One  decisive  proof  is  sufficient.  The  preceding  facts  are 
mentioned  only  to  remove  the  common  error,  that  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  the  terms  everlasting  and  eternal  to  future 
punishment  is  of  constant  recurrence. 

All  the  proof  which  the  above  passages  can  afford  in 
support  of  the  endless  duration  of  punishment,  must 
depend  upon  the  words  everlasting  and  eternal,  and  pre¬ 
suppose  that  they  denote  duration  without  end  :  but  in 
order  to  show  this,  it  is  necessary  to  prove  both  that  this  is 
their  primitive  meaning,  and  that  they  are  invariably  used 
in  this  sense  in  Scripture.  That  they  do  not  primarily 
denote  endless  duration,  seems  evident  from  the  fact  that 
they  have  a  plural  number.  Had  the  primitive  meaning  of 
the  substantive,  auov,  been  eternity,  and  of  the  adjective 
aunvios,  endless,  they  could  scarcely  have  possessed  a  plu¬ 
ral  signification,  since  it  would  have  involved  the  same 
absurdity  as  is  manifest  when,  attaching  to  the  term 


160 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


eternity  tlie  sense  which  it  always  bears  in  tlie  English 
language,  we  speak  of  eternities. 

That  these  words  are  not  invariably  used  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  to  signify  duration  without  end,  is  indisputable  :  yet 
they  require  to  have  this  sense  constantly  and  without 
exception,  if  their  application  to  the  subject  of  punishment 
be  alone  sufficient  to  prove  its  absolute  eternity,  for  if  they 
ever  denote  limited  duration,  they  may  do  so  in  regard  to 
future  punishment. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  exact  meaning  of  these  terms, 
and  the  length  of  duration  thev  signify,  it  is  necessary  to 
consider  how  they  are  used  respecting  other  subjects  in  the 
New  Testament,  and  in  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Old. 

The  word  cucov  (aeon)  is  used  in  Scripture  in  several 
different  senses.  Sometimes  it  signifies  the  term  of 
human  life,  at  other  times  the  duration  of  the  world,  and 
at  others  an  age  or  dispensation  of  Providence  :  in  its  plu¬ 
ral  form  it  denotes  the  age  of  the  world,  or  any  measure- 
ment  of  time,  especially  if  its  termination  be  hidden,  but 
its  most  common  signification  is  that  of  age  or  dispensation. 
It  has  this  sense  in  the  following  passages. 

Matt.  xiii.  22  :  “  He  who  received  seed  among  thorns  is 
he  who  heareth  the  word  and  the  anxious  care,”  rov  cucovos 
tovtov,  of  this  aeon,  age  or  world,  &c.  Ye r.  39:  “  The 
harvest  is  the  end,”  rov  aion'os,  of  the  aeon  or  age.  Yer. 
40  :  “  So  will  it  be  in  the  end,”  rov  auovos  tovtov ,  of  this 
aeon  or  age.  Yer.  49  :  “  So  will  it  be  in  the  end,”  tov 
aioovos,  of  the  aeon  or  age.  Matt,  xxviii.  20  :  “Lo,  I  am 
with  vou  always  to  the  end,  ”  tov  clloovos,  of  the  aeon  or  age. 
Luke  xvi.  8:  “For  the  sons,”  tov  cuoavos  tovtov,  of  this 
aeon  or  age  are  more  prudent.  Pom.  xii.  2  :  “Be  not 
conformed  according,”  tm  cucjovl  tovtco,  to  this  aeon  or  age. 
Tit.  ii.  12:  “Live  soberly,  righteously,  and  piously,”. 
ev  Tip  vvv  auovL,  in  this  present  aeon  or  age.  And  also  in 
the  following  passages  :  Matt.  xii.  32,  Mark  iv.  19,  Luke 
xx.  34,  1  Cor.  viii.  13,  1  Cor.  x.  11,  Galat.  i.  4,  1  Tim. 
vi.  17,  2  Tim.  iv.  10,  Heb.  ix.  26. 

That  the  terms  aunv  and  auomos  often  signify  limited 
duration  is  evident  from  the  following  passages. 

Alcov, 

Exod.  xxi.  6  :  “  Then  his  master  shall  bring  him  unto 


SIGNIFICATION  OF  THE  SCRIPTURE  TERM  “iEON.”  1G1 

the  judges;  he  shall  bring  him  to  the  door  or  the  door¬ 
post,  and  his  master  shall  bore  his  ear  through  with  an 
awl,  and  he  shall  serve  him,  et?  rov  auova,for  ever ,”  that  is, 
to  the  end  of  his  life. 

Eceles.  i.  4  :  “  One  generation  passeth  away  and 

another  cometh ;  but  the  earth  abideth,  eis  rov  a  low  ci,  for 
ever,”  not  surely  to  eternity,  but  from  generation  to  gener¬ 
ation. 

John  viii.  35:  “The  slave  abideth  not  in  the  house, 
els  rov  cuoova,  for  ever ;  the  son  abideth,  et?  rov  cuoova,  for 
ever  ”  In  Exodus  xxi.  2,  it  is  affirmed,  that  the  slave  was 
at  liberty  to  leave  his  master’s  house  at  the  expiration  of 
the  sixth  year ;  in  the  text  it  is  said  that  he  abideth  not 
with  his  master  for  ever,  because  he  serves  him  for  so 
short  a  period,  and  his  temporary  residence  in  the  house 
is  contrasted  with  that  of  the  son,  who  is  said  to  abide  in 
it  for  ever,  not  because  his  continuance  there  will  never 
end,  but  because  he  enjoys  a  residence  with  his  father  for 
an  indefinite  and  comparatively  long  period.  This  passage 
shows,  in  a  most  striking  manner,  both  the  limited  signifi¬ 
cation  of  this  term,  and  the  necessity  of  considering  the 
subject  to  which  it  is  applied,  before  we  determine  the 
length  of  duration  it  denotes. 

John  xiv.  16:  “  The  Father  will  give  you  another 

Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you,  eis  rov  aLoora,  for 
ever  ,”  that  is,  as  long  as  you  live. 

1  Cor.  viii.  13  :  “  If  food  cause  my  brother  to  offend,  I 
will  not  eat  flesh,  eis  rov  aioova,  for  ever,”  during  the  whole 
course  of  my  life. 

V 

To  these  the  following  passages  may  be  added,  1  Sam. 
iii.  13,  Micali  iv.  7,  Matt.  xxiv.  3,  John  xiii.  8,  Ephes.  ii. 
7,  Heb.  vi.  5. 

That  this  term  must  be  understood  in  a  limited  sense, 
is  likewise  evident  from  the  fact,  that  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  continually  speak  of  different  aeons,  and 
represent  one  aeon  as  succeeding  another.  This  mode 
of  expression  occurs  in  several  passages  which  have 
already  been  quoted,  and  it  is  used  upwards  of  twenty 
times  in  the  New  Testament,  in  all  which  places  the  phrase, 
this  aeon,  necessarily  stands  opposed  to  some  other  aeon. 

For  example,  Ephes.  i.  21  :  “Far  above  all  principality 
and  power  and  might  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that 

11 


162 


THE  DIVINE  'GOVERNMENT. 


is  named,  not  only/'  ev  rw  cum’i  tovtcd ,  in  this  ceon  or  age, 
aXXa  kcu  ev  rep  neXXovn,  hut  also  in  that  which  is  to  come. 
Matt.  xii.  32  :  “And  whosoever  speaketli  against  the  Son 
of  Man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him,  but  whosoever  speaketli 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,"  ovre 
ev  Tovrcp  T(p  clloovi,  neither  in  this  ceon  or  acje,  ovre  ev  ru> 
I xeXXovTL ,  nor  in  that  which  is  to  come  :  surely  this  cannot 
mean,  neither  in  this  eternity  nor  in  the  eternity  to  come. 

Y\re  also  read  of  the  end  of  the  aeon.  Matt,  xxviii.  20  : 
“Lo,  I  am  with  you  always  to  the  end,"  rov  aiodvos,  of 
the  ceon  or  age;  not  surely  to  the  end  of  eternity.  We 
even  read  of  the  end  of  the  aeons,  and  a  period  of  time  is 
spoken  of  prior  to  their  commencement.  Thus  this  word 
admits  of  the  existence  of  time  previous  to  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  age  which  it  describes,  and  of  an  end  to  the 
periods  which  it  speaks  of  as  yet  to  come. 

But  what  is  absolutely  decisive  of  its  limited  signifi¬ 
cation,  is  the  addition  of  en  and  eneveiva  to  it  in  the 
following  places. 

Exod.  xv.  18  :  “The  Lord  shall  reign,"  tov  atoova,  kcu 
en’  cucjovcc,  kcu  en,  from  ceon  to  ceon ,  and  farther. 

Dan.  xii.  3  :  “And  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous¬ 
ness  as  the  stars,"  ets  rovs  cucovas,  kcu  en,  through  tlce  ceons , 
AND  FARTHER. 

Micah  iv.  5  :  “And  we  walk  in  the  name  of  Jehovah 
our  God,"  eis  rov  cuoova,  kcu  en eKeiva,  through  tlce  ceon,  and 
BEYOND  IT. 

A  patient  inquirer  into  the  genuine  meaning’  of  the 
phraseology  of  Scripture,  and  very  accurate  critic,  the  late 
Mr  Simpson,  makes  the  following  observations  on  this 
term  :  *  “Alcdv  occurs  about  a  hundred  times  in  the  New 
Testament,  in  seventy  of  which,  at  least,  it  is  clearly  used 
for  a  limited  duration.  In  the  Septuagint  translation  of 
the  Old  Testament  also  it  is  even  repeated,  and  several 
times  it  is  repeated  twice,  without  meaning  eternity,  and 
in  two  instances  signifies  no  longer  a  period  than  the  life 
of  one  man  only." 

Aiamos. 

Gen.  ix.  16  :  “And  I  will  look  upon  the  bow  that  I  may 
remember,  hia6i]Kriv  ai covlov,  the  everlasting  covenant  be- 

*  Essay  on  the  Duration  of  a  Future  State  of  Punishments  and  Rewards, 
p.  17. 


VALUE  OF  THE  SCRIPTURE  TERM  “  EVERLASTING/' ’  1G3 

tween  God  and  all  flesli  upon  the  earth  ;  ”  yet  the  world 
itself  will  have  an  end,  and  therefore,  though  this  bow  is 
said  to  be  the  testimonial  of  an  everlasting  covenant,  yet  it 
can  possess  only  a  limited  duration. 

Gen.  xvii.  8,  13,  19  :  “  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  and 
unto  thy  seed  after  thee,  the  land  wherein  thou  art  a 
stranger,  all  the  land  of  Canaan,  eis  Karaa^aiv  aunviov,  for 
an  everlasting  possession.  He  that  is  born  in  thy  house, 
and  he  that  is  bought  with  thy  money,  must  needs 
be  circumcised;  and  my  covenant  shall  be  in  your  flesh,  ets 
biaOrjKriv  aunviov,  for  an  everlasting  covenant” 

In  this  passage  the  land  of  Canaan  is  called  an  everlasting 
possession,  and  the  covenant  of  circumcision  an  everlasting 
covenant ;  yet  the  land  of  Canaan  will  not  exist  through 
endless  ages,  and  the  covenant  of  circumcision  is  declared 
in  the  Hew  Testament  to  be  already  annulled. 

Numb.  xxv.  13  :  “  He  shall  have  it  and  his  seed  after 
him,  even  an  everlasting  covenant  of  priesthood,”  biaOrjKrj 
auavia,  yet  the  genealogy  of  Phineas  and  Aaron  cannot 
now  be  traced. 

Pliilem.  1*5  :  “  He  therefore  departed  for  a  season,  that 
thou  shouldest  receive  him,  aunmov,  for  ever  ,”  that  is,  for 
his  whole  life  only. 

Exod.  xl,  15:  “And  thou  shalt  anoint  them  as  thou 
didst  anoint  their  father,  that  they  may  minister  unto  me 
in  the  priests’  office  ;  for  their  anointing  shcdl  surely  he  an 
everlasting  priestiioou.”  Compare  this  with  Hebrews 
vii.  12:  “For  the  priesthood  being  changed,  there  is 
made  of  necessity  a  change  also  in  the  law.”  Yer.  18  : 
“  For  there  is  verily  a  disannulling  of  the  commandment 
going  before,  for  the  weakness  and  unprofitableness  of  it.” 

In  the  first  of  these  passages  it  is  affirmed,  that  Aaron’s 
sons  shall  be  established  in  an  everlasting  priesthood,  and 
that  the  covenant  made  with  them  shall  be  without  end ; 
in  the  second  it  is  declared,  that  this  everlasting  priesthood 
is  changed,  and  this  everlasting  ordinance  is  now  no  more. 
Here  then  we  have  the  express  authority  of  Scripture  for 
saying,  that  an  everlasting  priesthood  has  come  to  an  end, 
and  that  an  everlasting  covenant  is  disannulled. 

Had  the  words  which  are  here  applied  to  the  duration  of 
Aaron’s  priesthood  been  annexed  to  that  of  future  punish¬ 
ment,  how  impossible  would  it  have  been  deemed,  by  many 

11  * 


164 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


persons,  to  answer  tlie  argument  it  would  have  furnished  in 
support  of  its  endless  duration  !  What  stress  would  have 
been  laid  upon  the  word  surely,  and  how  often  should  we 
have  heard  it  repeated  in  reply  to  everything  which  might 
be  advanced  on  the  subject ;  yet  we  have  the  authority 
of  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  for  affirming 
that  the  argument  would  have  been  totally  fallacious  ! 

Since  then  we  read  of  the  everlasting  or  teonian  circum- 
cision,  and  of  the  everlasting  or  teonian  priesthood,  it  is 
evident  that  the  term  must  have  a  limited  signification ; 
for  we  cannot  possibly  suppose  these  things  to  be  endless, 
merely  because  they  are  said  to  be  of  teonian  duration. 
The  aeon  or  age  to  which  thev  related  is  gone  ;  the  Eeonian 
covenants  and  statutes  are  waxed  old,  and  have  disappeared, 
and  Jesus  Christ  has  introduced  a  new  ason;  but  if  we 
render  the  word  permanent,  continual,  or  lasting,  we  shall 
be  able  to  attach  a  Scriptural  and  consistent  meaning  to  it 
in  every  passage  in  which  it  occurs.  Thus  we  shall  have 
a  just  conception  of  the  continual  covenants  of  circumcision 
and  priesthood,  which  continued  during  the  Jewish  aeon  or 
age ;  of  the  continual  hills,  which  will  continue  during  the 
aeon  or  age  of  the  world ;  of  the  continual  gospel,  which 
will  be  preached  during  the  aeons  or  ages  in  which  the 
Mediator  is  subjecting  all  things  to  himself,  and  reconciling 
them  to  the  Father  ;  and  of  continual  punishment,  which 
will  be  inflicted  until  the  wise,  necessary,  and  benevolent 
purposes  of  punishment  are  accomplished. 

The  same  kind  of  observations  may  be  applied  to  the 
phrases  for  ever,  and  for  ever  and  ever.  Eu  auova  aien'os, 
for  ever,  is  used  to  denote  a  limited  period  of  duration  in 
the  following  passages : 

Ps.  xxxvii.  29  :  “  The  righteous  shall  dwell  in  the  land 

O 

for  ever that  is,  from  generation  to  generation.  Ps. 
ixi.  8  :  “ I  will  sing  praise  to  thy  name  for  ever/3  from  one 
period  of  my  life  to  another.  Ps.  cxxxii.  14  :  “  This  is  my 
rest  for  ever  ;  ”  that  is,  from  age  to  age.* 

Eis  tov  aicnva  Kai  eis  rov  aunva  rov  aicnvos,  for  ever  and  ever, 
is  employed  to  express  limited  duration  in  the  following 
texts  : 

“  Ps.  xlviii.  14  :  c  This  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and  ever 

is 

*  See  Simpson’s  Essay,  pp.  17,  IS. 


MEANING  OF  THE  PHRASE  u  FOR  EVER  AND  EVER."'’  165 


that  is,  from  age  to  age,  for  he  has  long  ceased  to  he  the 
God  of  the  Jews  in  the  sense  here  intended.  Ps.  cxix.  44  : 
f  So  shall  I  keep  thy  law  continually,  for  ever  and  ever that 
is,  through  the  several  periods  or  ages  of  my  life  on  earth. 
Ps.  cxlv.  2  :  ‘  I  will  praise  thy  name  for  ever  and  ever /  that 
is,  through  every  period  of  my  life.  Ps.  cxlv.  2\  :  ‘  Let 
all  flesh  bless  his  holy  name  for  ever  and  ever /  that  is,  from 
ao-e  to  age,  or  through  every  age.  Ps.  cxlviii.  6  :  f  He  hath 
established  the  heavens  for  ever  and  ever /  that  is,  through 
all  ages.”* 

“  It  is  an  observation  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
when  clloov,  or  aiamos,  are  applied  to  the  future  punishment 
of  the  wicked,  they  are  never  joined  to  life,  immortality, 
incorruptibility,  but  are  always  connected  with  fire,  or 
with  that  punishment,  pain,  destruction,  or  second  death, 
which  is  effected  by  means  of  fire.  Now,  since  fire,  which 
consumes  or  decomposes  other  perishable  bodies,  is  itself 
of  a  dissoluble  or  perishing  nature,  this  intimates  a  limita¬ 
tion  of  the  period  of  time.”  f 

It  is  probable,  also,  that  one  chief  reason  why  the  future 
punishment  of  the  wicked  is  often  denoted  by  the  metaphor 
of  fire,  is  because  it  was  the  agent  which  was  generally 
employed  in  purifying  other  bodies.  J  Allusions  are  con¬ 
tinually  made  in  Scripture  to  this  property  of  fire.  Mala- 
chi  iii.  2,  3  :  “  But  who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming, 
and  who  shall  stand  when  he  appeareth  ?  For  he  is  like  a 
refiner’s  fire,  and  like  fullers’  soap ;  and  he  shall  sit  as  a 
refiner  and  purifier  of  silver,  and  he  shall  purify  the  sons 
of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  silver,  that  they  may 
offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteousness.”  Isaiah 
xlviii.  10  :  “  Behold,  I  have  refined  thee.  I  have  chosen 
thee  in  the  furnace  of  affliction.”  Mark  ix.  49  :  t{  For 
every  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire,  and  every  sacrifice  shall 
be  salted  with  salt.”  In  this  passage,  which  itself  relates 
to  future  punishment,  the  double  metaphor  of  salt  and  fire 
appears  to  be  used  to  signify  the  same  thing,  the  correct¬ 
ive  nature  of  punishment.  1  Peter  i.  7  :  “  That  the  trial 

*  Simpson’s  Essay,  pp.  17,  18. 

j  Ibid.  p.  22. 

j  It  is  true  this  metaphor  is  very  frequently  used  to  signify  indignation  and 
anger,  as  in  Rev.  xiv.  10,  and  Heb.  x.  27,  but  the  passages  quoted  above  prove 
that  it  is  also  employed  to  denote  the  corrective  nature  of  punishment. 


166 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


of  your  faith,  being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold  that 
perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might  be  found  unto 
praise  and  honour  and  glory,  at  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
Christ/'’  Allusion  to  this  property  of  fire  is  also  made  in 
the  following  passages  : — Ps.  xii.  6  :  “  The  words  of  the 
Lord  are  pure  words  :  as  silver  tried  in  a  furnace  of  earth, 
purified  seven  times.”  Matt.  iii.  11,  12  :  “  He  shall  bap¬ 
tize  you  with  the  Idolv  Ghost  and  with  fire  ;  whose  fan  is 
in  his  hand,  and  he  will  throughly  purge  his  floor,  and  gather 
his  wheat  into  the  garner  :  but  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff 
with  unquenchable  fire.”  The  parallel  passage  in  Luke 
iii.  17.  Eev.  iii.  18  :  “  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me  gold 
tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich ;  and  white  rai¬ 
ment,  that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  and  that  the  shame  of 
thy  nakedness  do  not  appear.” 

It  aj^pears,  then,  that  since  the  terms,  cucov  and  cucovlos, 
are  constantly  applied  to  things  which  either  have  per¬ 
ished,  or  which  must  be  destroyed,  no  argument  can  fairly 
be  deduced  from  their  use  alone  in  proof  of  the  absolute 
eternity  of  future  punishment,  even  although  it  should  be 
allowed  that  some  passages  in  which  they  occur  denote 
duration  without  end.*  Before  their  application  to  this 
subject  can  be  conclusive,  it  must  be  shown  that  there  is 
something  in  the  nature  of  punishment  which  requires  that, 
whenever  they  are  annexed  to  it,  they  must  necessarily 
denote  endless  duration  :  a  task  which  it  is  not  easv  to 
accomplish,  and  the  very  attempt  at  which  seems  absurd  : 
but  even  if  it  could  be  accomplished,  it  would  prove,  not 
that  the  nature  of  these  terms  gives  the  sense  of  eternity 
to  punishment,  but  that  the  nature  of  punishment  imparts 
it  to  these  terms. 

This  foundation,  then,  of  the  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery, 
and  of  Limited  Punishment  terminated  by  Destruction,  is 

*  That  they  are  sometimes  connected  with  subjects  which  have  an  endless  dura¬ 
tion  must  be  admitted  ,  for  example,  in  some  passages  which  relate  to  the  glory 
of  God.  Rom.  xvi.  27  :  “To  the  only  wise  God  he  glory,  eig  rovg  aiioi>ag,for 
ever.'’  1  Peter  iv.  11  :  “  That  by  Jesus  Christ  God  may  he  glorified,  to  whom 
be  glory  and  dominion,  eig  rovg  aanvag  tcjv  aunvwv,  for  ever  and  ever 1  lim. 
vi.  16  :  “  To  him  who  only  hath  immortality,  be  honour  and  dominion,  aunriov, 
everlasting .”  And  in  some  passages  which  relate  to  the  nature  of  the  Divine 
Being.  Rom.  xvi.  26  :  “According  to  the  commandment,  rov  aiuviov  Gsou,  of 
the  everlasting  God”  But  it  is  evident  that  in  these  passages  these  words  do 
not  give  the  sense  of  endless  to,  but  receive  it  from,  the  subject  to  which  they 
are  applied. 


NECESSARY  PUNISHMENT  OF  THE  WICKED. 


167 


unstable  and  insufficient.  These  terms  cannot  establish 
the  doctrine,  that  future  punishment  will  be  followed  by  a 
total  extinction  of  conscious  existence,  because  the  only  way 
in  which  they  could  favour  this  opinion  would  be  by  prov¬ 
ing  that  the  loss  sustained  by  the  wicked  is  truly  everlast¬ 
ing,  and  that  in  this  most  important  sense  their  punish¬ 
ment  mav  be  said  to  be  without  end  ;  but  it  has  been 
shown  that  these  words  do  not  prove  the  endless  duration 
of  punishment.  Still  less  do  they  favour  the  doctrine  of 
Endless  Misery ;  for  although  the  absolute  eternity  of 
punishment  were  fully  established,  it  would  by  no  means 
follow,  that  this  punishment  consists  of  unremitted  and 
insupportable  torments,  because  the  substantive  connected 
with  the  adjective  which  is  translated  eternal,  does  not 
signify  misery,  but  punishment.  It  is  not  said  that  the 
wicked  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  torment ;  and  though 
the  term  everlasting  is  connected  with  the  metaphor  of 
fire,  yet  this  metaphor  may  signify  something  else  besides 
misery,  as  has  already  been  shown;  and  at  all  events  to 
attempt  to  establish  such  a  tremendous  doctrine,  merely 
upon  a  figurative  expression,  is  unwarrantable. 

But  though  this  word,  when  applied  to  future  punish¬ 
ment,  does  not  denote  duration  without  end,  yet  it  is 
expressive  of  a  period,  to  the  length  of  which  we  can  set 
no  limits,  and  which  no  thoughtful  mind  can  contemplate 
without  dismay.  To  the  impenitent  and  obdurate  sinner, 
who,  in  the  midst  of  light  and  knowledge,  with  clear  con¬ 
ceptions  of  his  duty,  and  strong  convictions  of  his  obliga¬ 
tions  to  obey  it,  has  lived  without  God  in  the  world, 
violated  the  laws  of  morality  and  religion,  outraged  the 
best  affections  of  the  heart,  and  trampled  on  the  dearest 
interests  of  mankind,  there  must  be  a  day  of  awful  retribu¬ 
tion.  Though  we  cannot  conceive  more  nobly  of  the  Deity 
than  to  suppose  that  benignity  constitutes  the  essence  of 
his  nature,  yet  from  this  very  circumstance,  he  must 
punish  the  wicked  with  a  necessary  degree  of  severity. 
They  carry  in  their  own  breast  the  sentence  of  condemna¬ 
tion;  they  feel  within  themselves  a  terrible  consciousness 
that  they  must  suffer  the  just  judgment  of  their  crimes, 
and  the  dictate  of  their  heart  is  the  voice  of  God,  announc¬ 
ing  to  them  their  future  destiny.  They  cannot  be  happy. 
Were  a  seat  prepared  for  them  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 


168 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


werg  angels  and  arcliangels,  and  tlie  spirits  of  the  just 
made  perfect,  to  encircle  them,  and  were  the  most  raptur¬ 
ous  joys  of  heaven  offered  to  their  acceptance,  they  would 
still  he  wretched.  The  very  bosom  of  enjoyment  would  be 
to  them  a  thorny  pillow ;  for  the  turbulence  of  malignant 
passion  would  even  there  disturb  their  repose  :  like  those 
miserable  pageants  of  grandeur,  who  live  in  gorgeous 
palaces,  and  whom  mirth  and  joy  encircle,  while  some  foul 
crime  weighs  heavy  on  their  conscience,  the  paleness  of 
whose  cheek  the  surrounding  splendour  does  but  deepen, 
and  whose  quivering  lip  moves  but  the  more  tremulously 
for  the  pleasure  which  invites  their  participation  :  anguish 
and  despair  are  in  their  hearts. 

Every  fault  we  commit  must  involve  us  in  suffering. 
Misconduct  and  misery  are  connected  together  by  a  law  as 
steady  and  invariable  in  its  operation,  as  that  which  regu¬ 
lates  the  motions  of  the  planets.  If  we  die  without  having 
acquired  virtuous  and  pious  habits,  and  with  hearts 
attached  to  criminal  pleasures,  there  is  no  alternative  ;  we 
must  necessarily  suffer  an  anguish,  which  both  reason  and 
revelation  assure  us  must  in  every  case  be  dreadful,  but  the 
decree  and  the  duration  of  which  can  be  determined 
only  by  the  nature,  the  number,  and  the  aggravation  of 
our  sins. 

Yhith  an  evidence  which  no  reasonable  mind  can  resist, 
and  with  deep  and  impressive  solemnity,  the  Scriptures 
assure  us,  that  after  death  cometh  the  judgment ;  that  all 
mankind  must  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  Jesus  Christ  ; 
that  they  must  be  judged  according  to  the  deeds  done  in 
the  body,  whether  they  have  been  good  or  evil ;  that  the 
virtuous  of  every  nation,  kindred,  people,  and  religion, 
shall  be  admitted  to  a  state  of  jmre  and  exalted  happiness, 
where  all  their  faculties  shall  be  enlarged,  where  every 
object  calculated  to  exercise  and  satisfy  them  shall  abound, 
where  every  natural  and  moral  imperfection,  and  therefore 
every  painful  sensation,  shall  be  for  ever  excluded,  and 
where,  existing  in  immortal  vigour,  they  shall  be  continu¬ 
ally  rising  higher  and  higher  in  the  scale  of  excellence  and 
enjoyment,  till  they  attain  a  measure  of  both,  which  at  pre¬ 
sent  we  can  neither  calculate  nor  comprehend.  But  they 
assure  us,  too,  that  the  wicked  shall  be  doomed  to  a  state' 
of  suffering,  awful  in  its  nature,  and  lasting  in  its  duration ; 


DOCTRINE  OF  UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION. 


169 


that  they  shall  be  excluded  from  the  habitations  of  the  just ; 
that  between  them  and  the  virtuous  a  great  gulf  shall  be 
fixed ;  that  no  song  of  joy  shall  be  heard  in  these  regions 
of  remorse  ;  that  weeping,  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth 
shall  be  there ;  and  that  the  recollection  of  the  sins  they 
have  committed,  the  mercies  they  have  abused,  and  the 
privileges  they  have  lost,  shall  fill  them  with  intolerable 
auo’uisli. 

o 

The  doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration  not  only  teaches 
these  solemn  and  momentous  truths,  but  inculcates  them 
in  a  manner  the  best  adapted  to  convince  the  understand¬ 
ing,  and  to  affect  the  heart.  It  is  not  this  doctrine,  there- 
fore,  which  cries  to  those  who  are  at  ease  in  Zion,  C{  Peace, 
peace,  when  there  is  no  peace ;  ”  it  is  not  this  doctrine 
which  says  to  the  wicked,  “  Ye  shall  not  surely  die  ;  ” 
which  relaxes  the  ties  of  moral  obligation,  or  promises  an 
exemption  from  punishment,  whatever  dispositions  are 
indulged,  or  whatever  crimes  are  committed. 

With  a  solemnity  peculiar  to  itself,  it  assures  the  wicked 
that  they  can  enjoy  no  rest ;  that  they  must  be  miserable 
as  long  as  they  are  criminal ;  and  if  there  be  anything 
affecting  in  tenderness,  or  persuasive  in  benignity,  that 
doctrine  must  have  a  peculiarly  moral  tendency  which 
inculcates  that  the  suffering  they  endure  will  induce  an  ab¬ 
horrence  of  its  cause,  and  that,  purified  from  sin,  repentant 
and  reclaimed,  in  love  with  holiness  and  goodness,  and 
looking*  with  humble,  penitent,  and  supplicating  hearts  to 
the  Father  of  mercies  for  forgiveness,  lie  will  have  compas¬ 
sion  upon  them,  speak  to  them  the  words  of  peace,  and 
take  them  to  his  bosom  as  his  children ;  that  even  as  a 
father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  will  have  compas¬ 
sion  upon  them  that  fear  him,  knowing  their  frame,  and 
remembering  that  they  are  but  dust. 

“  I  have  taken  no  pleasure  in  your  suffering/'’  may  we 
conceive  our  heavenly  Father  to  say  to  his  penitent 
children,  when  the  discipline  under  which  he  will  place 
them  shall  have  accomplished  its  design.  “  I  have  chas¬ 
tised  you  only  with  a  view  to  correct  the  evil  which  was  in 
you.  You  feel  and  deplore  your  error.  You  are  fitted  to 
partake  of  true  happiness  :  come,  then,  for  there  is 
room ;  f  This  my  son  was  dead  and  is  alive,  was  lost  and 
is  found  !  3 


170 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


If  at  tliat  moment  this  reclaimed  child  should  have  the 
feelings  of  a  man,  and  testify  in  human  language  the  sens¬ 
ations  of  his  soul,  will  he  not  fall  down  before  this  most 
lovely  Being,  and,  in  a  rapture  of  adoring  gratitude,  exclaim 
• — “  Thy  wisdom  and  thy  goodness  have  prevailed  !  With 
penitence  I  return  unto  thee,  from  whom  I  ought  never  to 
have  departed  !  Father,  receive  thy  child.  The  eternity 
of  happiness  thou  givest  me  shall  speak  thy  praise  ! 93 

What  a  memorable  and  affecting  spectacle  must  such  a 
reconciliation  afford  to  the  whole  rational  creation  !  How 
great  must  be  its  moral  influence  !  How  much  better  must 
it  answer  all  the  purposes  of  justice  as  well  as  benevolence, 
than  the  condemnation  of  millions  of  millions  of  rational 
beings  to  a  total  loss  of  conscious  existence,  or  to  the  en¬ 
durance  of  the  most  excruciating  torments,  which  can 
accomplish  no  possible  end,  except  that  of  sinking  the 
unhappy  victims  deeper  and  deeper  in  sin  and  misery  ! 
Which  spectacle  is  most  worthy  of  the  God  of  love,  and  in 
which  is  most  apparent  the  finger  of  infinite  wisdom, 
power,  and  benevolence  ? 


PART  III. 

CHxAPTER  I. — Section  II. 

OP  THE  APPLICATION  OP  THE  SAME  WORD  TO  THE  HAPPINESS 
OF  THE  RIGHTEOUS  AND  THE  PUNISHMENT  OP  THE  WICKED. 

Since  it  is  evident  that  the  terms  eternal,  everlasting,  for 
ever  and  ever,  denote  a  limited  duration,  and  therefore 
that  their  application  to  future  punishment  cannot  prove 
its  absolute  eternity,  it  is  farther  urged  in  support  of  the 
doctrines  of  Endless  Misery,  and  of  Limited  Punishment 
terminated  by  Destruction,  that  the  same  word  is  applied, 
both  to  the  happiness  of  the  righteous  and  the  punishment 
of  the  wicked ;  and  that,  as  in  the  one  case  this  term  is 
always  supposed  to  convey  the  idea  of  happiness  without 
end,  so  in  the  other  it  must,  in  all  fair  and  reasonable 
construction,  be  allowed  to  denote  endless  loss  or  suffering. 


HAPPINESS  LASTING  AS  THE  DEITY. 


171 


Tlie  proper  and  full  reply  to  tliis  objection  is,  tliat  tlie 
application  of  clluvlos,  to  tlie  happiness  of  the  righteous  and 
the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  cannot  of  itself  prove  the 
absolute  eternity  of  either.  If  the  endless  duration  of  the 
happiness  of  the  righteous  be  established  beyond  doubt,  the 
proof  is  derived  from  other  sources,  and  does  not  depend 
upon  this  term. 

The  passage  on  which  the  present  objection  is  chiefly 
founded,  occurs  in  Matt.  xxv.  46  :  “  And  these  shall  go 
away  into  everlasting  punishment,  but  the  righteous  into 
life  eternal.”  Although  the  same  word  is  here  employed 
to  express  the  duration  both  of  future  reward  and  punish¬ 
ment,  yet  the  difference  between  the  nature  of  the  two 
subjects,  the  difference  between  the  substantives  to  which 
the  adjective  is  applied,  and  the  clear  testimony  of  other 
passages  of  Scripture,  which  relate  to  the  final  destiny  of 
mankind,  all  concur  to  show  that  in  the  former  case  it 
signifies  an  endless,  and  in  the  latter  a  limited,  duration. 

There  is  the  greatest  possible  difference  between  the 
nature  of  the  subjects  to  which  the  term  is  applied.  When 
an  everlasting  life  of  happiness  is  promised  to  the  right¬ 
eous,  the  subject  naturally  leads  us  to  believe  that  its  dur¬ 
ation  will  be  without  end,  because  we  can  conceive  of 
nothing*  which  should  bring  it  to  a  termination.  There  is 
everv  reason  to  believe  that  the  same  motive  which  induced 

t /  v 

the  Deity  to  impart  it  for  a  very  protracted  period,  will  lead 
him  to  render  it  endless.  The  happiness  of  which  the 
pious  will  be  in  possession  in  a  future  state  is  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  the  object  for  which  they  were  created,  the  com¬ 
pletion  of  the  design  of  their  existence :  as  long  as  they 
continue  to  enjoy,  they  promote  the  benevolent  purpose  of 
their  Creator,  and  therefore  their  felicity  has  in  itself  the 
promise  of  immortality.  Happiness,  too,  is  an  eternal 
principle ;  it  is  coeval  with  the  Deity,  and  will  be  lasting 
as  himself.  But  misery  is  in  every  respect  the  reverse. 
It  is  not  the  object  for  which  mankind  were  brought  into 
being;  its  prevalence  is  not  the  fulfilment  of  the  designs  of 
the  Deity  :  as  long  as  it  exists,  his  purposes  cannot  be  com¬ 
pleted  ;  it  is  not  itself  an  end,  it  is  only  the  means  to  an 
end,  which  alone  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  it  cannot  be 
eternal,  but  must  cease  as  soon  as  it  has  accomplished  its 
allotted  work.  There  is,  therefore,  such  a  difference 


172 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


between  tlie  nature  of  happiness  and  misery,  as  necessarily 
leads  to  the  conclusion,  that  their  duration  will  be  different. 
The  term  auovtos,  applied  to  the  first,  derives  from  it  the 
signification  of  endless  duration ;  applied  to  the  second,  it 
is  restricted  by  it  to  a  limited  period. 

There  is  an  equal  difference  between  the  nature  of  the 
substantives  to  which  this  word  is  applied.  Thus,  in  this 
very  passage,  when  it  relates  to  the  righteous,  it  is  con¬ 
nected  with  1>  a  substantive  which  signifies  life ;  when 
it  respects  the  wicked,  it  is  joined  with  koXclctls,  a  term 
which  invariably  denotes  corrective  punishment.*  That  the 
phrase  everlasting*,  or  continual  life,  when  applied  to  the 
pious,  may  signify  an  immortal  existence,  it  is  reasonable 
to  believe,  because  the  nature  of  the  subject  countenances 
the  opinion,  and  it  is  favoured  by  many  passages  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  :  that  the  expression  everlasting  punishment,  or 
lasting  correction,  when  applied  to  the  wicked,  denotes  a 
limited  punishment,  it  is  impossible  to  deny,  because  a 
corrective  cannot  be  an  endless  punishment;  because  the 
very  hypothesis  is  incompatible  with  the  design  of  the 
Divine  government ;  because  it  is  contrary  to  the  general 
tenor  of  the  New  Testament,  and  because  it  deprives  many 
of  its  most  striking  and  animating  expressions  of  all  their 
beautv  and  truth. 

Nor  does  the  affixing;*  of  a  different  meaning*  to  the  same 

O  O 

word,  occurring*  twice  in  the  same  sentence,  afford  any  ob¬ 
jection  to  this  interpretation.  The  difference  in  the  subject 
in  the  one  case  and  the  other  is  so  manifest,  as  clearly  to 
point  out  its  different  signification ;  so  that  if  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  afforded  no  example  of  a  similar  repetition  of  the 
same  word  in  a  twofold  sense,  it  ought  not  to  induce  the 
least  doubt  of  the  validity  of  the  principle  upon  which  the 
distinction  in  the  present  passage  is  established.  But  the 
fact  is,  that  there  are  several  places  in  which  the  same  word 
is  applied  twice  in  the  same  sentence,  with  a  dissimilarity 
as  to  the  extent  of  duration  denoted  by  it,  exactly  similar 
to  this.  For  example, 

*  “The  word  here  rendered  punishment  properly  signifies  correction  for  the 
benefit  of  the  offender.  And  the  word  translated  everlasting  is  often  used 
to  express  a  long  hut  indefinite  duration.  This  text,  therefore,  so  far  from 
giving  countenance  to  the  harsh  doctrine  of  eternal  misery,  is  rather  favourable 
to  the  more  pleasing  and  more  probable  hypothesis  of  the  ultimate  restitution  of 
the  wicked  to  virtue  and  happiness.”  Improved  Version,  note  in  loc. 


THE  SCRIPTURE  PHRASE  “  UNQUENCHABLE  FIRE.”  173 

Hab.  iii.  6  :  “ And  tlie  everlasting  mountains  were 
scattered,  and  the  perpetual  hills  did  bow ;  his  ways  are 
everlasting.”  In  this  passage  the  same  word  is  applied  to 
the  duration  of  mountains,  and  to  the  duration  of  the  ways 
of  God  :  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sentence  it  signifies  ab¬ 
solute  eternity ;  in  the  former  it  must  denote  limited 

V  * 

duration.  This  passage  affords  another  striking  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  principle  that  it  is  the  nature  of  the  subject 
in  relation  to  which  the  term  amovios  is  used,  that 
determines  the  leno-th  of  duration  it  must  be  understood  to 

o 

denote.  When  it  relates  to  the  Deity,  it  derives  from  his 
nature  the  sense  of  absolute  eternity :  when  it  expresses 
the  duration  of  mountains,  it  is  restricted  by  their  nature 
to  a  limited  signification. 

Eom.  xvi.  25,  26  :  “ According  to  the  revelation  of  the 

mystery  which  was  kept  secret,  xporots’  aunmots,  in  the 
times  of  the  ages,  but  has  now  been  made  manifest,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  commandment,  rov  clioovlov  Qeov,  of  the 
everlasting  God.”  Tit.  i.  2:  “In  hope,  fays  aiwviov,  of 
eternal  life,  which  God,  who  cannot  lie,  promised,”  irpo 
Xpovoor,  before  the  times  of  the  ages,  or  before  the  world  began, 
or  before  the  ancient  dispensations. 

These  examples  are  abundantly  sufficient  to  prove  that 
the  argument  in  support  of  the  endless  duration  of  punish¬ 
ment,  founded  upon  this  application  of  the  term,  is  also 
fallacious. 


PAET  III. 

CHAPTEE  I.— Sectiox  III. 

OP  THE  ARGUMENT  IX  FAVOUR  OF  EXDLESS  MISERY,  DERIVED 
FROM  THE  PHRASE  UXQUEXCHABLE  FIRE. 

The  following  passages  have  been  deemed  decisive 
proofs  of  the  endless  duration  of  the  misery  of  the  wicked. 

Matt.  xxy.  41  :  “  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  eis  to  t rvp 

to  cucovlov,  into  eternal  or  lasting  fire.”  Jude  7  :  “As 
Sodom  and  Gomorrha  are  set  forth  for  an  example,  suffer¬ 
ing  the  vengeance,  t -vpos  cugoiuov,  of  eternal  fire.”  This 


174 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


fire  lias  been  extinguished  long  ago.  Matt.  iii.  12  :  “But 
he  will  burn  the  chaff,  7 wpt  acr/kcrro),  with  unquenchable 
fire.”  Mark  ix.  48 — 49  :  “  And  if  thy  hand  cause  thee  to 
offend,  cut  it  off :  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life 
maimed,  than  having  two  hands  to  go  into  hell,  into  the  fire 
that  never  shall  he  quenched ,  where  their  worm  dieth  not, 
and  the  fire  is  not  quenched.  And  if  thy  foot  cause  thee 
to  offend,  cut  it  off :  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  halt  into 
life,  than  having  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  hell,  into  the  fire 
that  never  shall  he  quenched.  And  if  thine  eye  cause  thee 
to  offend,  pluck  it  out  :  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  with  one  eye,  than  having  two  eyes  to 
be  cast  into  hell-fire,  where  their  worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire 
is  not  quenched ;  for  every  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire, 
and  every  sacrifice  shall  be  salted  with  salt.” 

It  is  argued,  that  our  Lord  in  this  passage  repeats  five 
times  that  the  fire  into  which  the  wicked  are  cast,  shall 
never  be  quenched ;  that  three  times  he  speaks  of  hell  as 
a  place  where  the  worm  dieth  not,  and  that,  still  farther  to 
show  the  perpetuity  of  the  sufferings  of  the  wicked,  he 
adds,  “for  every  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire.”  As  it  is 
the  property  of  salt  to  preserve,  it  is  argued,  that  the  in¬ 
ference  justly  deducible  from  this  awful  intimation  is,  that 
this  fire,  while  it  torments  its  unhappy  victims,  shall  not 
put  a  period  to  their  existence,  but,  contrary  to  its  natural 
effect,  continue  them  in  being. 

A  careful  examination  of  this  passage  will  show,  that 
this  argument  -is  founded  upon  a  false  interpretation  of  the 
metaphors  which  are  here  employed,  and  that  it  is  alto¬ 
gether  fallacious.  Jesus  speaks  of  the  wicked  as  being- 
cast  into  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  into  the  unquenchable  fire, 
where  the  worm  dieth  not.  Yet  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom 
the  worm  died  when  its  food  failed,  and  the  pile  on  which 
human  sacrifices  were  burnt  to  Moloch  was  often  ex¬ 
tinguished.” — Neivcome. 

“  These  emblematical  images,  expressing  hell,  were  in 
use  among  the  Jews  before  our  Saviouffs  time.  The  son 
of  Sirach  says  (vii.  7),  f  The  vengeance  of  the  ungodly  is 
fire  and  worms/  Judith  xvi.  17  :  ‘’The  Lord  will  take 
vengeance  on  the  nations,  &c.,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  in 
putting  fire  and  worms  in  their  flesh/  ” — Lowth’ s  Note  on 
Isaiah  lxvi.  24. 


FIGURATIVE  MEANING  OF  “  UNQUENCHABLE  FIRE.”  175 

When  it  is  said,  tliat  every  one  shall  "be  salted  with  fire, 
or  every  sacrifice  is  salted  with  salt,  this  is  to  be  under¬ 
stood,  “not  literally  as  the  law  requires,  Levit.  ii.  13,  but 
figuratively,  with  the  salt  of  divine  assistance  and  instruc¬ 
tion.  Salt  being  a  preservative  of  food  from  hasty 
corruption,  was  among  the  Jews  an  emblem  of  virtue  and 
knowledge,  by  which  the  mind  is  purified.  Coloss.  iv.  6  : 
fLet  your  speech  be  always  with  grace,  seasoned  with 
salt/  ” — New  come. 

That  the  phrase  unquenchable  fire,  upon  which  so  much 
stress  is  always  laid  in  the  argument  for  Endless  Misery, 
does  not  denote  a  fire  which  shall  never  cease,  is  most 
certain.  The  following  passages  afford  irresistible  evi¬ 
dence,  that  it  is  constantly  used  in  the  Scriptures  in  a 
limited  sense. 

Jer.  xvii.  27  :  “But  if  ye  will  not  hearken  unto  me,  to 
hallow  the  Sabbath  day,  and  not  to  bear  a  burthen,  even 
entering  in  at  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
then  will  I  kindle  fire  in  the  gates  thereof,  and  it  shall  devour 
the  palaces  of  Jerusalem,  and  it  shall  not  be  quenched.” 
Yet  the  same  prophet  predicts  that  Jerusalem  shall  be  re¬ 
built,  ch.  sss.  18,  &c. 

Ezek.  xx.  45 — 48  :  “  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  unto  me  saying.  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  towards 
the  south,  and  say  to  the  forest  of  the  south,  Hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord.  Behold,  I  will  kindle  a  fire  in  thee,  and 
it  shall  devour  every  green  tree  in  thee,  and  every  dry 
tree,  the  flaming  flame  shall  not  be  quenched,  and  all 
faces  from  the  south  to  the  north  shall  be  burned  therein, 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  that  I  the  Lord  have  kindled  it ; 
it  shall  not  be  quenched.” 

If  it  Ye  supposed,  that  these  menaces  were  actually 
executed  upon  Jerusalem,  and  that  when  this  devoted  city 
was  destroyed,  the  prophecy  was  literally  accomplished,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  fire  which  consumed  it  is 
already  extinguished,  and  that,  therefore,  the  Scriptural 
meaning  of  an  unquenchable  fire  is  not  one  which  has  no 
termination.  If  these  dreadful  threatenings  be  more 
justly  considered  as  figurative,  it  must  be  allowed  that  they 
express  the  Divine  displeasure,  and  the  severity  of  the 
punishment  which  is  inflicted  on  the  disobedient,  but  not 
that  they  determine  anything  relative  to  its  duration. 


176 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


Isaiah  xxxiv.  9 — 11  :  “And  the  streams  thereof  (of  the 
land  of  Idumea)  shall  be  turned  into  pitch,  and  the  dust 
thereof  into  brimstone,  and  the  land  thereof  shall  become 
burning  pitch.  It  shall  not  be  quenched  night  nor 
day  ;  the  smoke  thereof  shall  go  up  for  ever  :  from  gener¬ 
ation  to  generation  it  shall  be  waste ;  none  shall  pass 
through  it  for  ever.  But  the  cormorant  and  the  bittern 
shall  possess  it :  the  owl  also  and  the  raven  shall  dwell  in 
it :  and  he  shall  stretch  out  upon  it  the  line  of  confusion, 
and  the  stone  of  emptiness.” 

No  fire,  with  which  the  wicked  are  threatened,  is 
expressed  in  language  so  strong  as  this,  yet  it  is  obvious 
that  this  phraseology  cannot  denote  a  fire  which  shall 
never  end ;  for  if  any  one  can  believe  that  Idumea  was 
really  turned  into  pitch  and  brimstone,  and  set  on  fire,  yet 
it  is  impossible  to  suppose,  that  it  will  continue  burning 
through  the  ages  of‘  eternity ;  and  if  the  denunciation  be 
interpreted  in  a  figurative  sense,  the  calamities  it  threatens 
must  be  understood  to  be  of  a  temporal  nature,  and  there¬ 
fore  of  limited  duration. 

Simpson  concludes  his  examination  of  the  term  irvp,  fire, 
in  general,  and  of  these  passages  in  particular,  with  the 
following  admirable  observations  : 

“All  these  several  metaphors,  by  which  future  punish¬ 
ment  is  described,  will  not  admit  of  being  understood 
literally.  For,  if  thus  interpreted,  some  of  them  would 
clash  with  others.  Nor  is  there  any  proper  authority  for 
taking  any  one  of  them  in  preference  to  the  rest,  and 
explaining  them  so  as  to  accord  with  that  which  we  select 
as  the  rule  of  interpretation.  We  are  compelled,  therefore, 
to  look  out  for  some  key  to  the  explanation  of  them  all,  so 
as  to  be  consistent  with  each  other.  If  any  one^f  these 
figurative  representations  has  united  with  a  plain  term 
that  will  accord,  not  only  with  the  single  figure  with  which 
it  is  conjoined,  but  also  with  the  various  other  figures  that 
are  employed  upon  this  subject  in  the  New  Testament ; 
and  especially  if  it  coincides  with  the  actual  explanation 
and  use  of  the  very  same  figures  in  the  writings  of  the 
Jewish  prophets,  we  may  fairly  interpret  all  the  figurative 
expressions  by  this  plain  one. 

“Now  the  words  anger  and  indignation  that  occur  in 
Kev.  xiv.  10,  Heb.  x.  27,  have  a  plain  and  distinct  mean- 


FIGURATIVE  STYLE  OF  JEWISH  SCRIPTURES. 


177 


ing.  f  The  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  which  is  poured  out  without  mixture  into  the  cup  of 
his  indignation,  and  he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire  and 
brimstone,  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lamb/  All  the  other  terms  that  are 
employed  to  describe  the  grievous  future  punishment  of 
the  wicked,  are  proper  figurative  representations  of  the 
dreadful  effects  of  divine  indignation  against  sinners ;  and, 
considered  in  this  light,  they  entirely  agree  with  each 
other.  The  Old  Testament  was  both  the  religious  and  the 
civil  code  of  the  Jews,  and  the  Greek  translation  of  it  was 
commonly  used  by  them  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  and  his 
apostles.  They  therefore  adopted  many  expressions  from 
the  books  contained  in  it.  Now  the  Jewish  prophets,  it  is 
well  known,  described  the  Deity  himself,  and  all  his 
operations  and  proceedings,  in  a  bold  and  most  highly 
figurative  style.  The  similitudes  which  we  are  now  con¬ 
sidering,  they  often  employed,  in  representing  the  great 
displeasure  of  the  Most  High  against  sin,  and  the  painful 
chastisement  of  death  that  he  will  inflict  in  this  world , 
upon  those  who  transgress  his  laws  and  abuse  his  favours. 
The  metaphors  of  fire,  unquenchable  fire,  and  their  worm 
not  dying,  as  well  as  other  figures,  are  thus  applied  in  the 
following  texts,  in  which  there  are  plain  expressions,  that 
lead  to  the  true  interpretation  of  the  figurative. 

“Deut.  xxxii.  22 — 25  :  CA  fire  is  kindled  in  mine  anger, 
and  shall  burn  unto  the  lowest  hell,  and  shall  consume  the 
earth  with  her  increase,  and  set  on  fire  the  foundations  of 
the  mountains.  I  wall  heap  mischiefs  upon  them  :  I  will 
spend  mine  arrows  upon  them  :  they  shall  be  burnt  with 
hunger  and  devoured  with  burning  heat,  and  with  bitter 
destruction ;  I  will  also  send  the  teeth  of  beasts  upon 
them,  with  the  poison  of  serpents  of  the  dust ;  the  sword 
without,  and  terror  wfithin,  shall  destroy  both  the  young 
man  and  the  virgin,  the  suckling  also  with  the  man  of  grey 
hairs/  Isa.  lxvi.  14 — 16:  fThe  indignation  of  Jehovah 
shall  be  known  towards  his  enemies.  For  behold  Jehovah 
will  come  with  his  fire  and  with  his  chariots  like  a  whirl¬ 
wind,  to  render  his  anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke  like 
flames  of  fire.  For  by  fire  and  by  his  sword  will  Jehovah 
plead  with  all  flesh,  and  the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
many/  Yer.  24  :  Lind  they  shall  go  forth  and  look  upon 

12 


178 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


the  carcases  of  the  men  that  have  transgressed  against  me  : 
for  their  ivorm  shall  not  die,  neither  shall  their  -fire  be 
quenched,  and  they  shall  be  an  abhorring  nnto  all  flesh/ 
Here  dead  carcases  are  spoken  of  as  being  devoured  by 
worms  or  destroyed  by  fire.  This,  therefore,  does  not 
imply,  but  excludes  the  idea  of  their  feeling  pain.  See 
also  Isaiah  v.  24,  2b;  xxx.  27 — 33;  Ps.  lxxxix.  46,  &c. 

“  From  the  above  quotations  out  of  the  Old  Testament, 
it  appears,  that  the  metaphors  in  the  Hew  Testament, 
which  we  are  considering,  must,  in  the  strongest  sense,  be 
understood  of  grievous  suffering  and  destruction  by  death. 
The  wicked,  then,  are  described  as  dying  again  after 
severe  punishment  in  the  world  to  come.  There  is  no  pas¬ 
sage  in  which  it  is  said  that  they  shall  be  immortal,  or 
shall  remain  in  a  state  of  torment  without  dying.  We 
have  no  sufficient  ground,  then,  for  maintaining,  that  the 
punishment  of  sinners  will  have  no  termination,  nor  for 
affirming,  that  the  second  death,  which  we  are  assured 
they  shall  undergo,  will  put  a  final  period  to  their  ex¬ 
istence.  These  are  conclusions  upon  which  consequences 
of  two  great  moment  depend,  to  admit  of  their  being 
deduced  from  figurative  language  alone.  Plain  and 
explicit  terms  seem  indispensably  requisite  to  justify  such 
sentiments.” 


PART  III. 

CHAPTER  I. — Section  IV. 

OP  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  PAVOUR  OP  ENDLESS  MISERY,  POUNDED 

ON  THE  CASE  OP  JUDAS. 

The  language  of  our  Lord  respecting  the  unhappy  person 
who  betrayed  him,  has  been  supposed  to  furnish  a  strong 
argument  in  support  of  the  endless  misery  of  the  wicked. 
“  The  Son  of  Man  goeth  as  it  is  written  of  him ;  but  woe 
unto  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed.  It 
would  have  been  good  for  that  man  if  he  had  not  been 
born.”  Matt.  xxvi.  24. 

Should  a  period  ever  arrive  when  Judas  will  be  restored 


PEOYEEBIAL  LANGUAGE  OP  THE  JEWS. 


179 


to  happiness,  our  Lord,  it  is  argued,  could  not  with  truth 
have  affirmed,  that  it  would  have  been  good  for  him  if  he 
had  not  been  born  ;  because,  though  the  suffering  inflicted 
on  him  be  ever  so  severe  and  protracted,  if  it  be  the  means 
of  correcting  his  evil  disposition,  and  preparing  him  for 
immortal  felicity,  his  existence  must  upon  the  whole  be  an 
incalculable  blessing. 

To  this  it  is  common  to  reply,  and  the  answer  is  abund¬ 
antly  sufficient,  that  the  language  of  our  Lord  is  proverbial, 
and  that  no  sober  mind  will  venture  to  rest  such  a  tre¬ 
mendous  doctrine  upon  the  solitary  use  of  a  Jewish  proverb. 
The  phrase  is  often  used  proverbially,  both  by  sacred  and 
profane  authors.  Simpson  observes,  that  it  is  often  found 
in  the  Talmudical  writers.  See  Wolfius’s  and  Lightfoot’s 
Xote  on  Matt.  xxvi.  24  ;  also  Grotius  in  loco,  et  Alberti 
Observ.  Philologies,  &c.,  who  produce  several  instances 
of  similar  modes  of  expression.  To  the  truth  of  these  ob¬ 
servations  Dr  Gill,  who  was  certainly  in  no  degree  hostile 
to  the  doctrine  of  endless  miserv,  or  to  anv  other  orthodox 
opinion,  bears  his  decided  testimony.  In  his  notes  on 
this  and  the  parallel  passage  in  Mark,  he  says,  “  This  is  a 
Pabbinieal  phrase  frequently  used  in  one  form  or  other, 
and  sometimes  as  our  Lord  spake  it  :  it  is  applied  to  such 
as  speak  false  and  lying  words,  and  regard  not  the  glory 
of  their  Creator.”* 

That  this  kind  of  language  was  common  among  the  Jews, 
we  have  abundant  proof  in  several  parts  of  Scripture.  Job, 
in  the  anguish  of  his  heart,  exclaims,  “  Let  the  day  perish 
wherein  I  was  born,  and  the  night  wherein  it  was  said, 
There  is  a  man  child  conceived.  Let  that  day  be  darkness ; 
let  not  God  regard  it  from  above,  neither  let  the  light 
shine  upon  it,  because  it  shut  not  up  the  doors  of  my 
motliePs  womb,  nor  hid  sorrow  from  mine  eyes.  Why 
died  I  not  from  the  womb  ?  Then  should  I  have  been  still 
and  quiet.  I  should  have  slept.”  Job  iii.  3. 

Jeremiah  uses,  if  possible,  still  more  strong  and  bitter 
language.  Jeremiah  xiv.  14 — 18  :f  Cursed  be  the  day 
wherein  I  was  born.  Let  not  the  day  wherein  my  mother 

*  The  Improved  Version  gives  as  a  conjectural  meaning  of  this  phrase,  “  It 
would  have  been  good  for  him  (the  traitor)  if  that  man  (the  Son  of  Man)  had 
never  been  born.”  See  note  in  loc. 

t  See  Blaney’s  note  on  this  passage. 


180 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


bore  me  be  blessed.  Cursed  be  tlie  man  that  brought 
tidings  to  my  father,  saying,  A  man  child  is  born  unto 
thee,  making  him  very  glad.  Let  that  man  be  as  the  cities 
which  Jehovah  overthrew  and  repented  not  :  and  let  him 
hear  the  cry  in  the  morning-  and  the  shouting  at  noon-tide, 
because  he  slew  me  not  from  the  womb,  or  that  my  mother 
might  have  been  my  grave.  Wherefore  came  I  out  from 
the  womb  to  see  labour  and  sorrow,  that  my  days  should 
be  consumed  with  shame  V} 

If  then  Job  could  use  such  language,  while  enduring 
suffering  which  was  indeed  very  severe,  but  which  was 
only  of  a  temporal  nature,  and  which  cannot  be  supposed 
to  have  arisen  in  any  degree  from  the  apprehension  of  end¬ 
less  misery  •  and  if  Jeremiah  could  adopt  it  for  no  other 
reason  than  because  he  suffered  a  little  disgrace  in  a  good 
cause ;  with  how  much  greater  justice,  and  with  what 
solemn  and  impressive  energy  might  our  Lord  apply  it  to 
Judas,  whose  crime  was  of  so  deep  a  dye,  and  whose 
punishment  must  necessarily  be  so  great !  Being  ac- 
cpiainted  with  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  and  accustomed  to 
this  kind  of  language,  his  hearers  must  often  have  heard 
similar  expressions  applied  to  persons  whose  sufferings 
were  trifling  compared  with  those  of  the  traitor. 


PART  III. 

CHAPTER  I.— Section  Y. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  FAVOUR  OF  ENDLESS  MISERY,  DERIVED 
FROM  THE  LANGUAGE  WHICH  IS  USED  CONCERNING  THE  SIN 

AGAINST  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

<c  Wherefore  all  manner  of  sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be 
forgiven  unto  men,  but  the  blasphemy  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto  men.  And  whosoever 
speaketh  a  word  against  the  Son  of  Man,  it  shall  be  for¬ 
given  him :  but  whosoever  speaketh  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world, 
neither  in  the  world  to  come.”  Matt.  xii.  31,  32. 


THE  SIX  AGAINST  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


181 


This  passage  has  been  supposed  to  afford  a  decisive  ar¬ 
gument  in  support  of  the  endless  duration  of  the  punish¬ 
ment  of  the  wicked  :  but  if  this  be  the  case,  the  proof 
must  depend  either  upon  the  phrase,  “  Whosoever  speaketh 
a  word  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven 
him;”  or  upon  that  which  immediately  follows,  “  neither 
in  this  world  nor  in  the  world  to  come.” 

With  regard  to  the  first,  it  may  be  admitted,  that  this 
dreadful  threatening  will  be  executed  to  the  very  letter, 
and  yet  the  concession  will  afford  no  proof  of  the  endless 
duration  of  punishment.  Whoever  is  guilty  of  this  sin  may 
not  be  forgiven ;  he  may  suffer  all  the  punishment  due  to 
his  crime  ;  that  punishment  may  be  protracted  and  terrible, 
and  vet  it  mav  not  be  endless,  because  it  is  one  thing*  for 
punishment  to  be  great  and  durable,  and  another  to 
be  without  end.  The  reasoning  which  is  founded  upon 
this  text,  instead  of  establishing  anything,  assumes  the 
point  in  dispute.  The  passage  is  adduced  to  show,  that 
the  punishment  inflicted  upon  unp.ardoned  sin  is  endless, 
yet  all  which  it  affirms,  taken  literally  and  in  its  largest 
sense,  is,  that  there  is  one  sin  which  will  not  be  forgiven  : 
so  that  the  precise  thing  to  be  proved,  namely,  that  un¬ 
pardoned  sin  will  be  punished  with  endless  suffering,  is 
taken  for  granted. 

The  phrase,  “  neither  in  this  age  nor  in  the  age  to  come,” 
is  so  far  from  denoting  endless  duration,  that  it  is  itself 
a  decisive  proof  that  expressions  of  this  kind  do  not  signify 
proper  eternity ;  for  if  the  contrary  be  maintained,  the 
correct  rendering  of  this  passage  must  be,  neither  in  this 
eternity,  nor  in  the  eternity  to  come. 

The  language  of  our  Lord  in  this  text,  refers  without 
doubt  to  the  conduct  of  the  Pharisees,  who,  when  they 
could  not  deny  the  reality  of  his  miracles,  attributed  the 
power  by  which  he  performed  them  not  to  God,  but  to  the 
agency  of  evil  beings.  lie  appeals  to  his  works  as  a  proof 
that  he  is  come  forth  from  God ;  but  he  is  assisted  by  a 
very  different  being,  say  they  :  ffHe  casteth  out  demons 
by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the  demons.”  Nothing  could 
discover  more  shocking  malignity.  Now,  says  our  Lord, 
every  kind  of  calumny  is  a  crime  of  great  enormity,  and 
pardoned  by  God  with  the  utmost  difficulty  :  but  to  speak 
evil  of  God  himself,  by  attributing  his  beneficent  and 

y  y  O 


182 


THE  DITINE  GOVERNMENT. 


miraculous  works  to  a  wicked  being,  is  an  offence  of  tlie 
deepest  dye,  and  muck  more  difficult  to  be  pardoned. 
Tkis  appears  to  be  wkat  our  Lord  affirms,  and  all  which 
he  affirms  in  this  passage. 

If  this  be  a  just  interpretation  of  these  words,  they  afford 
an .  example  of  a  mode  of  expression  which  is  very  fre¬ 
quently  employed  by  the  Hebrews,  and  of  which  we  have 
several  instances  in  the  Scriptures.  When  they  would  say 
that  one  thing  is  more  excellent,  easy,  or  difficult,  than 
another,  they  often  positively  affirm  the  one  and  deny  the 
other.  In  this  manner  God  is  represented.  Matt.  ix.  13, 
as  savino-  “  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice,”  meaninsr 
by  this,  not  that  sacrifices  were  in  themselves  disagreeable 
to  him,  but  that  acts  of  beneficence  were  more  excellent 
and  acceptable.  So  Matthew  (chap.  v.  18)  says,  “  Till 
heaven  and  earth  pass  away,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  by 
no  means  pass  away  from  the  law,  till  all  be  accomplished ;” 
which  Luke  explains  (chap.  xvi.  17),  by  saying,  “It  is 
easier  for  heaven  and  earth  to  pass  away,  than, for  one  tittle 
of  the  law  to  fail.”  In  the  same  manner  Christ,  in  the 
text,  seems  to  say,  that  every  other  kind  of  evil-speaking 
may  be  forgiven,  but  that  to  speak  evil  of  God  or  his  Spirit 
shall  not  be  pardoned,  when  no  more  is  intended,  than 
that  it  is  more  difficult  to  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  the  one 
offence  than  of  the  other,* 

There  are  other  expositors,  however,  who  plead  for 
understanding  these  words  .literally,  and  suppose  them  to 
declare,  that  to  speak  evil  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the 
manner  before  mentioned,  is  an  unpardonable  offence, 
either  because  the  persons  who  are  guilty  of  it,  rejecting 
the  evidence  of  miracles,  resist  the  strongest  motive  to  re¬ 
pentance  which  God  can  give,  or  because  the  crime  is  of 
too  enormous  a  nature  to  come  within  the  reach  of  divine 
mercy.  But  it  does  not  seem  probable  in  itself,  that  any 
sin,  committed  by  creatures  of  such  limited  capacities  as 
we  are,  can  be  so  heinous  as  to  leave  no  hope  of  pardon, 
when  sincerely  repented  of ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  our 
Lord  himself  thought  it  impossible  for  the  Divine  clemency 
to  be  extended  to  it ;  for  when  he  was  put  to  death  by  the 
Pharisees,  who  had  been  guilty  of  this  offence,  he  prays 

*  See  Kenriek’s  Exposition  of  the  Historical  "Writings  of  the  New  Testament, 
note  in  loc. 


THE  SIN  AGAINST  THE  HOLT  GHOST. 


183 


that  God  would  forgive  them  :  to  which  it  may  he  added, 
that  a  few  verses  before  we  find  these  Pharisees  ask  for  a 
sign,  and  Christ  tells  them  that  one  shall  be  given  them, 
even  that  of  the  prophet  -Jonas;  but  why  should  their  re¬ 
quest  be  granted,  except  for  their  conviction,  that  they 
might  obtain  forgiveness  ?  * 

The  preceding  observations  are  founded  on  the  remark 
of  Grotius  on  this  passage,  who  says,  “  Our  Lord  could  not 
mean  in  the  former  part  of  the  sentence,  in  which  he 
speaks  of  other  sins  and  blasphemies,  to  affirm  absolutely, 
that  they  shall  be  forgiven  without  repentance,  because 
this  is  not  true  :  for  many  of  them  we  are  told  will  not  be 
forgiven,  but  will  incur  their  due  punishment.  Therefore 
this  is  a  Hebrew  form  of  speech,  signifying  that  all  other 
sins  and  blasphemies  shall  sooner  be  forgiven  than  the 
blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Spirit.  For  it  was  common 
among  the  Jews  to  say,  this  thing  shall  be,  and  this  shall 
not  be,  merely  to  -  express  the  greater  difficulty  of  effect¬ 
ing  the  latter  than  the  former,  without  affirming*  anything 
absolutely  of  either." 

Whitby  seems  to  think  that  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Spirit  probably  refers  to  blaspheming  the  Spirit  which  fell 
on  the  Apostles  at  the  day  of  Pentecost  (see  Appendix  to 
Alatthew  xii.)  ;  with  whom  Doddridge,  on  Matthew  xii. 
31,  32,  agrees.  If  this  opinion  be  well  founded,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  this  sin  shall  not  be  forgiven,  because  those  * 
who  had  committed  it  were  exhorted  to  repent,  that  they 
might  obtain  pardon.  Acts  ii.  13,  38,  viii.  17 — 24.fi 

It  is  obvious,  that  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  con¬ 
sists  in  a  wilful  and  obstinate  ascription  of  the  miraculous 
powers  of  Jesus  Christ  to  demoniacal  agency.  “Verily," 
says  our  Lord  (Mark  iii.  28),  “all  sins  shall  be  forgiven 
unto  the  sons  of  men,  and  blasphemies  wherewith  soever 
they  shall  blaspheme  :  but  he  that  shall  blaspheme  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  hath  never  forgiveness,  but  is  in  danger  of 
eternal  damnation;  because  they  said  he  had  an  unclean 
spirit.”  Matt.  xii.  24  :  “  This  man  doth  not  cast  out 
demons,  but  by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the  demons." 
These  last  words  place  the  matter  beyond  doubt. 

He  who,  when  he  saw  the  miracles  of  Jesus,  and  could 

*  See  Kenrick,  in  loc. 

f  See  Simpson's  Essay  on  Future  Punishment,  p.  80. 


184 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


not  resist  the  conviction  that  they  were  real,  refused  to 
yield  to  his  authority,  but  attributed  his  work  to  the 
agency  of  demons,  rejected  the  strongest  possible  evidence 
of  the  truth  of  his  religion.*  Refusing  to  profit  by  the 
best  means  which  the  wisdom  of  the  Deity  had  devised  to 
make  him  pure  and  happy,  there  was  every  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  he  must  leave  this  world  utterly  unprepared  for 
the  next,  and  suffer  the  penalty  of  unrepentant  guilt,  which 
will  be  the  more  dreadful  in  that  his  eyes  will  be  opened 
to  all  the  enormity  of  his  crime.  This,  indeed,  will  form 
a  dreadful  aggravation  of  the  misery  of  the  wicked  in  the 
state  of  punishment.  At  present,  the  mind  has  a  wonder¬ 
ful  power  of  changing  at  will  the  appearances  of  objects, 
so  that  it  can  bring  itself  to  view  even  the  most  horrible 
crimes  not  only  without  disgust,  but  with  pleasure  :  but  in 
the  state  of  discipline  in  which  the  Parent  of  mankind 
will  hereafter  place  his  offending  offspring,  this  deceptive 
power  will  not  be  permitted  to  be  exercised.  The  veil 
will  be  tom  from  every  eye,  and  all  objects  will  appear  in 
their  real  colours.  Then,  it  will  not  be  Aero  reflecting 
upon  his  crimes  with  the  blunted  feelings  of  the  man  who 
could  cause  hundreds  of  innocent  beings  to  be  wrapt  in 
shirts  of  pitch,  and,  setting  them  on  fire,  mingle  in  the 
crowd  of  flaming  victims,  that  he  might  have  a  nearer 
view  of  their  anguish  ;  but  it  will  be  Aero  contemplating 
•  his  wanton  cruelty  with  the  sensibility  of  Howard  ;  with 
the  just  valuation  of  goodness  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  Is  it 
possible  to  believe,  that  this  altered  view  and  feeling  will 
produce  no  beneficial  effect ;  will  excite  no  abhorrence  of 
sin,  no  desire  to  burst  from  its  thraldom  and  be  free,  or 
that,  exciting  such  a  dislike  and  wish,  they  will  be  for  ever 
unavailing  ? 

The  degree  and  the  duration  of  punishment  necessary  to 
produce  the  salutary  change,  must  be  different  in  different 
persons.  The  exact  proportion  it  is  the  part  of  Infinite 
Wisdom  to  determine.  Ao  more  than  is  requisite  will  be 
inflicted :  as  much  as  is  necessary  must  be  sustained. 
Some  must  be  beaten  with  few,  and  others  with  many 

*  “  They  who  ascribed  the  miracles  of  Jesus  and  his  Apostles  to  demoniacal 
agency,  resisted  the  strongest  possible  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion,  and  were  therefore  incapable  of  being  converted  to  the  belief  of  it.” 
Improved  Version,  in  loc.  See  also  Dr  Samuel  Clarke’s  Paraphrase  of  this 
passage,  and  Macknight,  in  loc. 


PARABLE  OP  THE  GREAT  GULP. 


185 


stripes ;  and  we  learn  from  the  passage  we  have  been  con¬ 
sidering,  that  there  is  in  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  a 
malignity  which  will  render  its  eradication  more  difficult 
than  that  of  any  other  crime.  In  the  language  which  is 
used  concerning  it,  there  is  much  that  is  awful  and 
affecting,  but  nothing  that  is  impossible  or  irrational,  and 
it  is  not  for  us,  by  giving  a  false  interpretation  of  it,  to 
render  it  both. 


PAET  III. 

CHAPTEE  I. — Section  YI. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  FAVOUR  OP  ENDLESS  MISERY,  DEDUCED 
FROM  THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  GREAT  GULF. 

The  parable  of  Lazarus  and  the  rich  man  has  often  been 
adduced  in  proof  of  the  endless  misery  of  the  wicked.  It 
is  necessary,  therefore,  to  notice  it,  though  no  intelligent 
person  can  lay  much  stress  upon  it.  Abraham  is  re¬ 
presented  as  saying  to  the  rich  man  (Luke  xvi.  26), 
“  Between  us  and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  so  that 
they  which  would  pass  from  hence  to  you  cannot,  neither 
can  they  pass  to  us  that  would  come  from  thence.” 

All  which  this  passage  proves  is,  that  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked  will  be  placed  in  different  states,  and  that  the 
one  cannot  pass  to  that  of  the  other.  Bespecting  the 
duration  of  these  states  it  determines  nothing. 

Indeed,  the  circumstances  mentioned  in  the  parable  are 
favourable  to  the  opinion,  that  future  punishment  will  be 
corrective.  The  rich  man  is  represented  as  enjoying 
many  privileges  which  he  abused.  He  had  great  wealth, 
but,  like  too  many  who  are  intrusted  with  this  means  of 
diffusing  happiness,  he  possessed  an  unfeeling  heart. 
There  is  no  Scriptural  authority  for  representing  him  as 
utterly  profligate  and  abandoned,  and  to  give  such  an  ex¬ 
hibition  of  his  character  is  to  pervert  the  design  of  this 
most  instructive  lesson,  which  is  to  admonish  us,  not  that 
a  monster  of  wickedness  shall  be  punished  in  the  other 
world,  but  that  the  man  who,  though  not  chargeable  with 


186 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


doing  much  ill,  does  little  or  no  g’ood,  and  lives,  though 
not  perhaps  an  intemperate,  a  sensual  life ;  who,  careless 
about  the  situation  of  others,  exists  onlv  for  the  indulgence 
of  his  own  appetites  and  his  own  vanity ;  shall  not  escape 
punishment.*  The  great  vice  of  his  character  was  the 
want  of  diffusive  benevolence.  He  felt  no  compassion  for 
the  misery  of  others.  Even  though  he  saw  a  fellow- 
creature  ready  to  perish  with  disease  and  hunger,  it  melted 
not  his  soul  to  charity.  He  dies,  and  is  placed  under  the 
painful  discipline  which  is  necessary  to  change  his  selfish 
disposition.  In  hell  he  lifts  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments. 
He  supplicates  for  mercy  ;  he  prays  that  Lazarus  may  be 
sent  to  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water  to  cool  his 
parched  tongue ;  his  request  is  refused,  and  finding’  that 
he  can  obtain  no  mitigation  of  his  own  suffering,  what 
does  he  next  solicit  ?  “I  pray  that  thou  wouldest  send 
him  to  my  father’s  house ;  for  I  have  five  brethren ;  that 
he  may  testify  unto  them,  lest  they  also  come  into  this 
place  of  torment/'’ 

The  very  disposition,  then,  for  which  he  is  punished,  is 
already  beginning  to  be  rectified;  the  discipline  under 
which  he  is  placed  is  taking  effect ;  he  has  ceased  to  care 
only  for  himself;  a  spark  of  benevolence  is  kindled  in  his 
heart.  Instead  of  imbibing  what  is  generally  represented 
as  the  spirit  of  the  devil  and  his  angels,  from  having’ 
associated  with  them  ;  instead  of  soliciting  permission  to 
go  and  beguile  his  brethren  to  this  place  of  torment,  he 
is  animated  by  a  disposition  of  the  purest  benevolence  ;  he, 
who  a  little  while  ago  was  so  insensible  to  the  sufferings 
of  others,  that  the  extremes  of  disease  and  hunger  could 
not  excite  in  his  bosom  a  single  sensation  of  pity. 

This  parable,  therefore,  which  does  not  allude  to  the  dur¬ 
ation  of  punishment,  but  which  gives  a  just  exhibition  of 
the  tendency  of  the  chastisement  of  a  wise  and  benevolent 
Being’,  countenances  the  doctrine,  that  the  wicked  will  be 
ultimately  restored  to  virtue  and  to  happiness. 

*  See  Campbell’s  note  on  this  passage,  in  which  wit  be  found  some  excellent 
practical  observations  on  this  beautiful  and  impressive  parable. 


187 


PAET  III. 

CHAPTEE  I. — Section  YII. 

OF  THE  OPINION  THAT  THERE  WILL  BE  NO  SUCCESSIVE  DURATION 

IN  A  FUTURE  STATE. 

It  is  not  easy  to  account  for  the  general  prevalence  of 
the  opinion,  that  time  will  end  with  the  present  state,  and 
eternity  commence  with  the  next.  The  notion  itself  is 
very  obscure.  As  far  as  it  is  intelligible,  the  common  idea 
of  eternity  seems  to  be  that  of  a  vast  gulf,  in  which  day 
and  night,  time  itself,  and  all  successive  duration,  are 
swallowed  up.  YTith  this  is  generally  connected  the 
opinion,  that  after  this  state  commences,  everything  must 
continue  as  it  is  without  the  possibility  of  change,  and 
that  therefore  the  wickedness  and  misery  of  the  impenitent 
must  necessarily  remain  unalterable. 

There  is,  however,  no  reason  to  believe,  that  successive 
duration  will  terminate  with  the  present  life.  Indeed,  it  is 
bv  no  means  easy  to  conceive  how  there  can  be  duration 
without  succession ;  at  all  events,  no  one  can  form  a  clear 
conception  of  it,  and  to  ground  such  a  doctrine  as  that  of 
endless  misery  on  a  notion  so  unintelligible,  can  be 
justified  by  nothing  but  the  extreme  exigency  of  the  case. 

The  only  passage  of  Scripture  which  seems  to  coun¬ 
tenance  this  opinion  is  Eev.  x.  6  :  “  The  ang’el  swore — • 
that  there  should  be  time  no  longer  : ”  but  the  context 
demonstrates  that  this  language  cannot  signify  that 
eternity  shall  commence,  if  bv  this  be  meant  endless 
duration  without  succession ;  for  in  the  very  next  verse 
another  angel  is  spoken  of  as  succeeding  the  sixth,  in 
terms  which  are  incompatible  with  this  idea.  Ver.  7  : 
“  But  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  when 
he  shall  begin  to  sound,  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be 
finished. ”  The  phrase  in  the  text  is  ovk  ecrrat  ztl  :  the 
reading  of  the  Alexandrian,  Ephrern,  and  other  approved 
MSS.  adopted  by  Griesbach,  is  ovKtri  eo-rai.  The  Improved 
ersion  renders  the  passage  in  the  following  manner — 
Vers.  5 — 7  :  “And  the  angel  whom  I  saw  standing  upon 


188 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


the  sea  and  upon  the  land,  lifted  up  his  right  hand  to 
heaven,  and  sware  by  Him  who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever, 
who  created  heaven  and  the  things  which  are  therein,  and 
the  earth  and  the  things  which  are  therein,  and  the  sea 
and  the  things  which  are  therein,  that  the  time  would  not 
he  yet,  but  in  the  days  of  the  blast  of  the  seventh  angel, 
when  he  shall  sound  his  trumpet,  and  the  mystery  of  God 
hath  been  finished,  as  he  hath  proclaimed  the  glad  tidings 
to  his  servants  the  prophets.” 

Wakefield  renders  the  passage,  “that  there  should  be 
no  longer  delay,”  with  whom  Dr  Gill  agrees,  who  gives 
the  following  exposition  of  the  text  :  “  The  words  will  bear 
to  be  rendered,  as  some  have  observed,  that  there  should 
be  delay  no  longer ;  that  is,  no  delay  of  the  coming  and 
kingdom  of  Christ ;  though  the  bridegroom  has  tarried,  he 
will  come,  and  will  not  tarry  beyond  the  time  the  angel 
swears  to  :  every  seal  of  the  sealed  book  (chap.  v.  1),  is  a 
delay  of  and  stop  upon  the  open  appearance  of  Christ's 
kingdom  ;  and  the  opening  of  every  seal  is  an  advance  to 
it  :  and  when  the  sixth  seal  was  opened  and  Paganism 
destroyed,  and  Christianity  spread  throughout  the  empire, 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  might  have  been  expected  to 
have  appeared  ;  but  there  was  a  seventh  seal  to  be  opened, 
which  was  a  stop  upon  it,  and  which,  when  opened,  brought 
ruin  and  destruction  upon  the  Christian  empire,  both 
western  and  eastern,  under  the  six  first  trumpets ;  and  till 
the  seventh  sounds  there  will  be  a  delay  of  Christ's  king¬ 
dom,  but  when  that  sounds  there  will  be  no  more  delay.” 

The  language  of  Scripture  is  directly  hostile  to  the 
notion,  that  in  a  future  state  there  will  be  no  successive 
duration.  The  Greek  phrases,  by  which  the  duration  of  a 
future  state  is  expressed,  necessarily  imply  it;  as,  ei? 
cuan'a,  for  an  aye;  zls  tovs  aioivas  tcov  aaovoov,  for  ages  of 
ages,  &c. 

Such  are  the  passages  which  are  commonly  adduced 
from  Scripture  in  proof  of  the  endless  misery  of  the 
wicked.  Those  which  have  been  considered  are  all  that 
are  generally  deemed  conclusive  or  important.  However 
frequently  they  may  be  repeated  or  confidently  urged,  they 
are  totally  insufficient  to  establish  this  gloomy  and  un- 
scriptural  opinion. 


189 


PAET  III. — CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENTS  CONCEIVED  TO  FAVOUR  THE  DOCTRINE  OF 
ENDLESS  MISERY,  WHICH  ARE  NOT  FOUNDED  ON  THE 
EXPRESS  DECLARATIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

SECTION  I. 

OF  THE  INFINITE  EVIL  OF  SIN. 

One  of  tlie  arguments  urged  in  support  of  the  doctrine 
of  endless  misery  is  so  obviously  fallacious,  that  it  scarcely 
deserves  a  serious  consideration ;  namely,  that  sin  is  an 
infinite  evil,  and  therefore  deserves  an  infinite  punishment. 

That  sin  is  not  only  an  evil,  but  the  greatest  which  can 
possibly  attach  to  a  moral  and  accountable  being,  is  an 
indisputable  truth  ;  but  that  the  slightest  transgression  is 
an  infinite  offence  and  deserves  an  infinite  punishment,  are 
positions  to  which  neither  reason  nor  revelation  afford  the 
shadow  of  support. 

The  advocates  of  this  extraordinary  opinion  endeavour 
to  establish  it,  by  an  argument  no  less  singular  than  the 
doctrine  itself.  Sin,  say  they,  is  an  infinite  evil,  because 
it  is  committed  against  an  Infinite  Person.  The  heinous¬ 
ness  of  an  offence,  they  contend,  increases  in  proportion 
to  the  dignity  of  the  personage  against  whom  it  is 
committed ;  hence,  a  crime  against  a  king  is  always  visited 
with  greater  severity  of  punishment  than  an  offence 
against  an  ordinary  person.  Since,  therefore,  God  is  in¬ 
finite,  and  since  every  sin  is  an  offence  against  God,  every 
sin  is  an  infinite  evil. 

The  full  reply  to  this  reasoning  is,  that  it  is  not  rank 
and  station  which  aggravate  a  crime,  but  its  tendency  to 
occasion  misery.  An  offence  against  a  king,  it  is  true,  is 
of  a  greater  magnitude,  and  is  punished  with  more  severity, 
than  the  injurious  treatment  of  an  ordinary  person ;  but 
the  reason  is,  that  an  offence  against  a  king  is  likely  to  be 
attended  with  worse  consequences  than  one  against  a 
private  individual.  If  a  king  be  treated  with  insult  or 
injustice,  a  whole  nation  may  be  injured  and  thrown  into 


190 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


commotion.  In  tlie  one  case,  the  evil  attaches  to  a  single 
individual,  in  the  other  to  millions  of  persons  :  in  the  one 
case,  therefore,  it  is  as  much  greater  than  the  other,  as  the 
sum  of  an  evil  which  extends  to  millions  exceeds  that 
which  attaches  only  to  a  single  individual. 

Besides,  were  sin  an  infinite  evil,  there  could  be  no  de¬ 
gree  in  transgression  :  for  when  speaking  of  infinity,  it  is 
absurd  to  talk  of  greater  or  less.  All  human  actions, 
therefore,  all  the  language  of  mankind,  all  laws,  human 
and  divine,  and  all  punishments,  contradict  this  opinion  : 
for  they  all  proceed  upon  the  principle,  that  some  crimes 
are  of  greater  magnitude  than  others.  We  know  too,  that 
the  Deity  distinguishes  in  the  most  exact  manner  between 
different  offences ;  that  he  apportions  to  each  an  equitable 
degree  of  punishment,  and  that  he  who  has  sinned  gneatly 
shall  be  beaten  with  many,  and  he  who  has  offended  less, 
with  fewer  stripes. 

Indeed,  it  is  when  we  consider  the  minute  shades  by 
which  different  sins  and  even  different  characters  are  dis¬ 
criminated,  that  we  perceive  in  the  most  forcible  manner 
the  impossibility  both  of  the  doctrine  of  endless  misery, 
and  of  limited  punishment  terminated  by  destruction. 
How  slight  is  the  difference  between  the  worst  good  man 
and  the  best  wicked  man  !  How  impossible  is  it  for  the 
utmost  exertion  of  human  sagacity  to  distinguish  between 
them  !  Yet  for  this  imperceptible  difference  in  character 
there  is,  according  to  these  doctrines,  an  infinite  difference 
in  destiny  !  He  who  is  lowest  in  the  scale  of  goodness, 
and  who  differs  from  the  best  wicked  man  onlv  bv  the 
slightest  shade,  is  admitted  to  infinite  happiness  :  he  in 
whom  wickedness  preponderates  upon  the  whole,  but  in  so 
small  a  measure  that  no  human  penetration  can  discern  it, 
is  shut  out  from  the  enjoyment  of  heaven;  doomed  by  one 
doctrine  to  inconceivable  torments  through,  endless  ag’es, 
and  by  the  other  to  dreadful  suffering  for  a  very  protracted 
period,  and  then  to  endless  extinction  of  being.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  one  opinion  the  positive  torment,  according  to  the 
other  the  positive  loss,  is  infinite,  yet  the  difference  in 
desert  is  indistinguishable  !  This  is  a  disproportion  to 
which  there  is  no  parallel  in  any  of  the  works  of  the  Deity, 
and  which  cannot  exist,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe,  in  any 
of  his  dispensations. 


191 


PART  III. 

CHAPTEK  II. — Section  II. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  FAVOUR  OF  ENDLESS  MISERY,  FOUNDED 

ON  THE  DIVINE  JUSTICE. 

As  the  Author  of  the  beautiful  system  of  the  universe 
must  possess  almighty  power  and  infinite  wisdom,  so  he 
must  be  endowed  with  every  moral  excellence.  He  who 
gave  to  all  tilings  the  relations  they  possess,  must  be  per¬ 
fectly  acquainted  with  them  ;  and  since  he  cannot  possibly 
err,  nor  have  any  motive  to  commit  injustice,  he  must  al¬ 
ways  act  with  undeviating  rectitude. 

Justice  is  one  of  those  virtues  which  are  essential  to  the 
perfection  of  the  moral  character.  The  intercourses  of 
society  could  not  subsist  without  it,  and  it  is  peculiarly 
necessary  in  a  governor  and  judge.  It  is,  therefore,  with 
the  greatest  propriety,  attributed  to  the  wise  and  benevo¬ 
lent  Ruler  of  the  world. 

Yet  while  it  is  universally  admitted,  that  the  Deity 
possesses  this  excellence  in  the  highest  perfection,  many 
persons  entertain  very  erroneous  ideas  respecting  it.  It  is 
usual  to  speak  of  it  as  a  stupendous  and  awful  attribute, 
inexplicable  in  its  nature,  terrible  in  its  consequences,  and 
possessing  little  in  common  with  the  virtue  of  justice 
among  mankind.  It  is  represented  as  contrary  in  its 
nature  to  goodness,  and  all  the  use  which  is  made  of  it  in 
favour  of  the  doctrine  of  endless  misery,  must  proceed 
upon  this  presumption  :  for  if  it  be  of  the  same  nature  as 
benevolence,  it  can  no  more  oppose  the  final  restoration 
of  all  mankind  than  goodness  itself. 

To  show  the  fallacy  of  the  distinction  which  many  per¬ 
sons  endeavour  to  establish  between  the  justice  and  good¬ 
ness  of  God,  it  is  sufficient  to  observe,  that  the  Deity 
cannot  possess  two  attributes  of  an  opposite  nature  to  each 
other ;  that  all  his  perfections  harmonize ;  that  they  have 
all  one  origin  and  one  object;  that  that  origin  is  benevolence, 
and  that  object  the  diffusion  of  happiness  :  but  as  there  is 
no  attribute  concerning  which  such  vague  and  mistaken 


192 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


notions  are  entertained,  and  as  these  opinions  necessarily 
affect  the  view  which  is  taken  of  the  most  interesting 
doctrines,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  establish  precise  and 
just  conceptions  respecting  it. 

The  misapprehension  which  has  prevailed  relative  to 
this  subject,  lias  arisen  chiefly  from  the  opinion,  that  justice 
in  God  is  of  a  different  nature  from  this  excellence  in  man. 
But  as  we  have  no  idea  of  the  Divine  goodness,  except 
from  those  indications  of  it  which  are  similar  to  the  appear¬ 
ances  that  prove  the  benignity  of  human  beings,  so  we  can 
have  no  conception  of  the  Divine  justice,  if  it  do  not 
resemble  that  quality  which,  in  the  intercourse  of  men  with 
each  other,  is  distinguished  by  this  term. 

Man  does  not  stand  alone  in  the  creation.  He  bears 
certain  relations  to  his  fellow-beings.  From  these  arise 
certain  duties,  the  exact  performance  of  which  constitutes 
the  virtue  termed  justice.  To  the  several  relations  of 
father,  brother,  husband,  citizen,  magistrate,  judge,  pertain 
appropriate  duties,  and  when  a  person  uniformly  and  faith¬ 
fully  discharges  them,  we  say  that  he  is  just. 

And  though  it  is  true  that  the  term  justice  is  sometimes 
used  in  a  more  restricted  sense,  to  express  one  particular 
duty,  yet  it  is  often  employed  even  in  a  still  more  extensive 
acceptation  than  that  which  is  here  assigned.  It  frequently 
comprehends  not  only  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  our 
fellow-creatures,  but  those  also  which  relate  to  ourselves 
and  to  God.  In  this  sense  it  is  often  used  in  Scripture, 
as  in  the  following  passages. 

Proverbs  iii.  33  :  “  He  blesseth  the  habitation  of  the 
just.-”  iv.  18:  “The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining 
light.”  x.  7  :  “  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed.”  xvii. 
26  :  “  To  punish  the  just  is  not  good.”  Heb.  ii.  4  :  “  The 
just  shall  live  by  faith.”  Luke  ii.  25  :  “  Simeon  was  just 
and  devout.”  xiv.  14:  “Thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  just.”  In  all  these  places,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  term  just  is  used  to  express  general  ex¬ 
cellence  of  character. 

In  common  language,  however,  it  is  more  frequently 
employed  to  denote  the  faithful  discharge  of  social  duties ; 
more  commonly  still  to  signify  the  treatment  of  men  ac¬ 
cording  to  their  character  and  desert,  without  regard  to 
them  persons  or  station ;  in  which  sense  it  stands  opposed 


NATURE  OF  DIVINE  JUSTICE. 


193 


to  partiality,  and  perhaps  most  commonly  of  all  to  express 
tlie  equitable  punishment  of  the  guilty. 

As  men  are  connected  with  their  fellow-beings,  so  the 
Deity  bears  a  certain  relation  to  men.  He  is  their  creator, 
their  parent,  their  moral  governor,  and  their  judge.  When 
we  say  that  He  is  just,  we  can  mean  no  more  than  that  he 
is  guided  in  his  conduct  towards  his  creatures,  by  a  prin¬ 
ciple  similar  in  its  nature  to  the  virtue  of  justice  among 
mankind;  that,  as  their  creator,  for  example,  he  makes  a 
provision  for  their  comfortable  existence ;  as  a  parent,  he 
satisfies  their  returning  wants,  and  teaches  them  the  lessons 
of  wisdom  and  virtue ;  as  their  moral  governor,  he  rules 
them  according  to  the  principles  of  perfect  equity  and 
benevolence ;  and  as  their  judge,  he  treats  them  with  the 
utmost  exactness  according;  to  wise  and  salutary  laws, 
without  partiality. 

Perhaps,  however,  it  will  lead  to  a  more  precise  and 
accurate  conception  of  the  only  real  difference  in  this 
principle,  as  a  divine  and  a  human  excellence,  to  say,  that 
justice  in  man  is  the  rendering  to  every  person  that  which 
is  his  due ;  and  that  justice  in  God,  is  the  treatment  of 
every  person  in  the  manner  which  is  best  suited  to  his 
moral  state. 

When  it  is  affirmed  that  this  principle,  as  a  human  ex¬ 
cellence,  consists  in  rendering  to  every  person  that  which 
is  his  due,  this  definition  is  meant  to  include,  not  only  what 
the  laws  of  the  state  and  the  institutions  of  society  require, 
but  also  what  humanity,  conscience,  and  religion  enjoin. 
The  just  man  is  he  who,  not  limiting  himself  to  the  demands 
of  any  prescribed  law,  does  good  to  the  utmost  extent  of 
his  judgment  and  ability. 

But  because  he  has  neither  the  wisdom  invariably  to 
discern  what  is  best  adapted  to  the  moral  condition  of  his 
fellow-beings,  nor  the  power  always  to  modify  his  conduct 
according  to  it,  even  though  he  should  clearly  perceive  it, 
it  is  not  proper  to  make  this  the  rule  of  his  actions.'  Such 
a  rule  is  applicable  only  to  Him  who  possesses  the  attribute 
of  omniscience,  and  who  has  in  his  own  hand  the  issues  of 
events. 

It  is  evident  that  the  distinction  which  is  here  made 
between  this  principle  as  it  exists  in  the  Deity  and  in  man, 
arises  not  from  any  difference  in  the  nature  of  the  virtue 

13 


194 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


in  the  one  being  and  in  the  other,  but  solely  in  the  degree 
in  which  they  possess  it;  the  one  enjoying  it  in  absolute 
perfection,  the  other  only  in  a  limited  measure. 

Dr  Edwards  gives  the  following  account  of  justice.* 
Sometimes,  he  says,  it  means  commutative  justice,  some¬ 
times  distributive,  and  sometimes  general,  or  public  justice. 
Commutative  justice  he  defines,  the  equal  exchange  and 
restitution  of  property  ;  distributive  justice,  the  equal  dis¬ 
tribution  of  rewards  and  punishments;  general,  or  public 
justice,  the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  a  community, 
whether  a  city,  state,  empire,  or  the  universe.  This  last 
he  considers,  though  a  frequent,  an  improper  use  of  the 
word,  because  justice  in  this  sense  is  the  same  with  bene¬ 
volence. 

In  the  inquiry,  whether  the  endless  punishment  of  the 
wicked  be  consistent  with  justice,  he  observes,  the  word 
justice  does  not  mean  commutative  justice,  because  the  in¬ 
quiry  has  no  respect  to  property  ;  nor  does  it  mean  general 
or  public  justice  ;  for  though  it  be  important  to  examine, 
whether  the  endless  punishment  of  the  sinner  dying  in  im¬ 
penitence  be  consistent  with  the  general  interest  of  the 
universe,  yet  that  is  a  different  question :  but  it  signifies 
distributive  justice,  and  the  precise  inquiry  is,  whether  to 
inflict  an  endless  punishment  on  the  sinner  dying  in  im¬ 
penitence  be  a  treatment  of  him  by  his  judge,  correspond¬ 
ent,  and  no  more  than  correspondent,  to  his  demerit,  or 
to  his  moral  conduct  and  personal  character.  He  proceeds 
to  state,  that  a  just  punishment  is  that  which  is  propor¬ 
tioned  to  the  crime  punished,  and  that  a  punishment  may 
be  said  to  be  proportioned  to  the  crime  punished,  when, 
by  the  pain  or  natural  evil  of  the  punishment,  it  exhibits 
a  just  idea  of  the  moral  evil  or  vicious  tendency  of  the  crime, 
and  a  proper  motive  to  restrain  all  intelligent  beings  from 
the  commission  of  it.  He  infers  that  the  infliction  of  endless 
misery  is  such  a  punishment,  but  he  advances  no  argument 
to  prove  it  :  he  grounds  the  justice  of  such  punishment  on 
the  nature  of  sin,  which  he  holds  to  be  an  infinite  evil,  the 
proof  of  which  he  does  not  himself  state,  but  considers  it 
sufficiently  established  by  his  father  and  other  winters  on 
that  side.  This,  indeed,  is  the  only  argument  ever  alleged 
to  prove  that  the  infliction  of  endless  misery  is  consistent 
*  The  Salvation  of  all  Men  strictly  examined,  &c.,  chap.  iv. 


SIN  HAS  NO  ATTRIBUTE  OF  INFINITY. 


195 


with  the  Divine  justice  :  and  as  this  is  a  point  of  great  im¬ 
portance,  it  may  be  proper  to  state  the  argument  in  the 
words  of  its  chief  advocate. 

“  I  shall  show/-’  says  the  author  of  the  Discourse  on  the 
Eternity  of  Hell  Torments,*  “that  it  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  justice  of  God  to  inflict  an  eternal  punishment. 
To  evince  this,  I  shall  use  only  one  argument,  namely, 
that  sin  is  heinous  enough  to  deserve  such  punishment,  or 
such  a  punishment  is  no  more  than  proportionable  to  the 
demerit  of  sin.  If  the  evil  of  sin  be  infinite,  as  the  punish¬ 
ment  is,  then  it  is  manifest,  that  the  punishment  is  no 
more  than  proportionable  to  the  sin  punished,  and,  there¬ 
fore,  is  no  more  than  sin  deserves.  The  eternity  of  the 
punishment  of  ungodly  men  renders  it  infinite,  and  it 
renders  it  no  more  than  infinite,  and,  therefore,  no  more 
than  proportionable  to  the  heinousness  of  their  guilt. 
Sin,  then,  being  an  .infinite  evil,  deserves  an  infinite  punish¬ 
ment  ;  such  punishment,  therefore,  is  just,  which  was  the 
thing  to  be  proved.” 

It  has  alreadv  been  shown,  that  sin  is  not  an  infinite 
.evil :  the  only  argument  on  which  the  justice  of  the  eternity 
of  punishment  is  founded,  is  therefore  fallacious.  Some 
persons,  indeed,  believe  in  the  eternity  of  punishment  who 
do  not  believe  in  the  infinity  of  the  evil  of  sin,  but  they 
differ  from  this  author  only  in  believing  without  any  reason, 
what  he  believed  for  an  insufficient  reason. 

In  the  nature  of  things,  sin  cannot  deserve  an  infinite 
punishment ;  it  has  no  attribute  of  infinity :  it  is  the  act 
of  a  finite  being,  and  therefore  cannot  be  infinite  in  mag¬ 
nitude  :  it  is  limited  to  the  duration  of  a  few  years,  and 
therefore  can  bear  no  proportion  to  eternity :  between  a 
punishment  extending  through  eternity,  and  sin  committed 
in  that  brief  period  of  time  which  constitutes  the  present 
life,  there  is  just  the  same  disproportion  that  there  is  be¬ 
tween  eternity  and  time.  Admitting,  therefore,  according 
to  Dr  JbdwardsA  own  definition,  that  a  just  punishment 
is  that  which  is  proportioned  to  the  crime  punished,  it 
follows,  that  the  infliction  of  misery  without  end,  for  the 
sin  committed  in  so  brief  a  period  as  this  mortal  life,  is 
not  only  unjust,  but  unjust  beyond  all  measure  and  bound. 

*  Edwards  on  the  Eternity  of  Hell  Torments,  pp.  3,  4 ;  The  Justice  of  God 
in  the  Damnation  of  Sinners,  &c.  p.  4. 


196 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


Dr  Edwards  endeavours  to  show  that  this  argument  is 
not  conclusive,  because  it  proves  too  much,  since  it  sup¬ 
poses  that  no  crime  can  be  justly  punished  for  a  longer 
period  than  was  consumed  in  the  perpetration  of  it.  He 
maintains,  that  if  it  be  once  allowed  that  a  crime  may  be 
punished  for  a  longer  time  than  was  consumed  in  the  per¬ 
petration  of  it,  the  whole  argument  that  a  creature  cannot 
in  a  finite  life  commit  such  sin  as  shall  deserve  an  endless 
punishment,  must  be  given  up  :  that  if  a  person  may  in 
one  day  commit  a  crime  worthy  of  a  punishment  that  shall 
continue  a  year,  he  mav  in  one  day  commit  a  crime  worthv 
of  a  punishment  that  shall  continue  two  years,  or  ten  years, 
or  during  his  whole  life.  That,  therefore,  in  determining 
the  duration  of  punishment,  no  regard  at  all  is  paid  to  the 
time  taken  up  in  the  perpetration  of  the  crime ;  and  that  if 
no  regard  be  paid  to  this,  there  is  no  absurdity  in  sup¬ 
posing  that  the  crimes  of  a  finite  life  may  deserve  an  end¬ 
less  punishment. 

It  is  true  that  in  apportioning  punishment  to  crime,  less 
attention  is  paid  to  the  time  consumed  in  the  commission 
of  it  than  perhaps  to  any  other  circumstance,  yet  it  is  not. 
correct  to  state  that  no  attention  is  paid  to  it :  for  a  crime 
which  is  committed  in  a  very  short  space  of  time,  is 
generally  considered  less  heinous  than  one  which  requires 
many  months  or  years  to  consummate  it.  All  the  other 
circumstances  of  a  crime  remaining  the  same,  the  length  of 
time  required  to  perpetrate  it,  is  itself  considered  an  aggra¬ 
vation  of  it :  not,  indeed,  simply  because  so  much  time  has 
been  spent  in  the  commission  of  the  evil  deed,  but  be¬ 
cause,  in  proportion  as  the  time  is  lengthened,  the  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  reflection  are  supposed  to  be  multiplied :  it  is, 
therefore,  considered  as  implying  a  more  fixed  determina¬ 
tion  to  evil,  to  continue  in  the  commission  of  it  a  vervlong, 
than  a  very  short  period.  But  the  true  principle  on  which 
alone  punishment  can  be  apportioned  to  crime,  is  the  sum 
of  evil  produced,  or  likely  to  be  produced,  by  the  criminal 
action.  A  crime  deserves  punishment  in  proportion,  and 
only  in  proportion,  as  it  tends  to  produce  misery.  This 
must  regulate  both  the  degree  and  the  duration  of  all  pun¬ 
ishment  that  is  just.  The  duration  of  punishment,  it  is 
true,  is  of  no  consequence  except  as  it  influences  the 
amount  of  punishment.  However  long  it  last,  it  is  not  un- 


EX  BLESS  MISERY  INCONSISTENT  WITH  JUSTICE. 


197 


just,  provided  the  punishment  upon  the  whole  he  not 
excessive.  But  for  this  very  reason  it  is  that  the  infliction 
of  endless  misery,  for  the  sins  of  the  present  life,  is  utterly 
inconsistent  with  justice,  because  whatever  be  the  amount 
of  misery  which  those  sins  may  deserve,  provided  they  do 
not  deserve  infinite  misery  (and  that  they  do  not  deserve 
infinite  misery,  has  already  been  shown),  a  period  must 
come  in  the  ages  of  eternity,  when  that  amount  will  have 
been  exceeded,  even  though  the  suffering  endured  at 
any  particular  period  be  inconsiderable.  The  collective 
sum  of  misery  endured,  through  a  successive  but  inter¬ 
minable  series  of  ages,  however  small  the  actual  suffering 
at  any  one  period,  must  at  length  exceed  what  any  one 
can  conceive  the  sins  of  the  present  life  to  deserve  ;  and 
of  this  the  conviction  would  be  inevitable  and  universal, 
were  it  possible  to  present  that  collective  sum  distinctly 
before  the  mind;  to  compare  the  amount  of  the  suffering 
with  the  number  and  magnitude  of  the  offences.  It  is 
when  the  mind  does  contemplate  what  the  sins  of  the  pre¬ 
sent  life  are,  and  what  misery  without  end  is,  and  does 
compare  the  one  with  the  other,  that  it  perceives  clearly 
that,  were  every  moment  of  human  life,  from  the  cradle  to 
the  grave,  devoted  to  the  perpetration  of  the  most  horri¬ 
ble  crimes,  it  would  be  utterly  inconsistent  with  justice  to 
visit  them  wfith  endless  misery;  because  the  amount  of 
misery  produced  by  all  the  crimes  which  it  would  be  possi¬ 
ble  to  crowd  into  this  short  space  of  existence,  could  bear 
no  manner  of  comparison  to  that  which  would  ultimately 
be  produced  by  such  a  punishment.  If  a  person  for  steal¬ 
ing  from  his  neighbour  the  sum  of  one  guinea  wrere  made 
positively  miserable  seventy  years,  every  one  would  ac¬ 
knowledge  that  the  punishment  was  greater  than  the 
crime  deserved,  and  was,  therefore,  unjust  :  but  the  inflic¬ 
tion  of  positive  misery  seventy  years  for  the  crime  of 
stealing  one  guinea,  is  mildness  and  mercy,  compared  wfith 
the  infliction  of  positive  misery  through  the  never-ending 
ages  of  eternity,  for  the  crimes  of  seventy  years.  Even 
admitting,  therefore,  that  in  apportioning  punishment 
to  crime,  no  regard  is  to  be  paid  to  the  time  spent  in  the 
commission  of  the  crime ;  yet,  regard  must  be  paid  to  the 
time  spent  in  suffering  the  punishment,  otherwise  the 
amount  of  the  punishment  may  become  most  excessive. 


198 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


and,  therefore,  most  unjust.  For,  though  the  mere  dura¬ 
tion  of  punishment  may  be  of  no  importance,  so  long  as 
the  whole  punishment  is  not  excessive,  yet,  it  may  become 
excessive  from  the  very  circumstance  of  its  protracted 
duration. 


Nor  is  it  possible  in  this  argument  to  separate  the  idea 
of  punishment  from  that  of  the  duration  of  it.  It  has  been 
said,*  that  the  advocates  for  endless  punishment  do  not 
contend  that  sin  deserves  an  infinite  degree  of  endless 
punishment,  that  they  do  not  pretend  to  determine  the 
degree  of  punishment  it  deserves,  and  that  it  becomes  all 
to  leave  that  to  God,  who  alone  can  determine  it ;  but  the 
truth  is,  that  the  doctrine  of  endless  misery  does  determine 
the  degree  of  misery  which  sin  deserves ;  at  least  to  the 
extent  of  deciding  that  it  deserves  an  infinite  degree  of 
misery  :  for  the  amount  of  misery  ultimately  endured,  if  it 
be  without  end,  whatever  be  the  degree  of  suffering’  ex¬ 
perienced  at  any  given  period,  must  be  infinite.  And  the 
representations  which  the  advocates  of  the  doctrine  of 
endless  misery  uniformly  give  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
wicked  in  the  future  state,  decidedly  prove,  that  in  their 
conception,  future  punishment  will  be  infinite  in  degree  as 
well  as  in  duration.  What  words  can  show  this  more  strong¬ 
ly  than  the  passage  which  has  already  been  cited  from  the 
Discourse  of  the  Eternity  of  Hell  Torments  ?  In  that 
passage  the  author  represents  the  wicked  as  spending 
thousands  and  thousands  of  ages  in  pain,  in  wailing  and 
lamenting,  groaning  and  shrieking  and  gnashing  their 
teeth,  with  their  souls  full  of  dreadful  grief  and  amazement, 
with  their  bodies,  and  every  member  of  them,  full  of 
racking  torture,  without  any  possibility  of  getting  ease, 
without  any  possibility  of  moving  God  to  pity  by  their 
cries,  without  any  possibility  of  hiding  themselves  from 
him,  without  any  possibility  of  diverting  their  thoughts 
from  their  pain,  without  any  possibility  of  obtaining  any 
manner  of  mitigation  or  help,  or  change  for  the  better ; 
and,  under  the  influence  of  these  racking  torments,  wish¬ 
ing  that  they  might  be  turned  into  nothing,  but  without  any 
hope  of  it  ;  or  that  they  might  be  turned  into  a  toad  or  a 
serpent,  but  without  any  hope  of  it  :  and,  as  if  this  intol¬ 
erable  misery  were  not  sufficient  to  satiate  the  vengeance 
*  Salvation  of  all  Men  strictly  examined,  &c.,  chap.  iv.  p.  107. 


MALIGNITY  OP  THE  DOCTRINE  OP  ENDLESS  MISERY.  199 

of  Almighty  God,  it  is  added,  tliat  in  tlie  future  state  the 
capacity  of  the  wicked  will  probably  be  enlarged,  and 
their  understandings  will  be  quicker  and  stronger,  and 
that  God  can  give  them  as  great  a  sense  and  as  strong  an 
impression  of  eternity  as  he  pleases,  to  increase  their  grief 
and  torment !  Let,  then,  the  mind  conceive,  if  it  can 
conceive,  what  the  amount  of  such  misery,  endured  through 
all  the  ages  of  eternity,  must  be,  and  determine  whether  its 
infliction  for  the  sins  of  seventy  years  be  consistent  with 
justice. 

But  it  is  further  argued,  that  though  it  were  not  just  to 
inflict  an  endless  punishment  for  the  sins  committed  in 
this  life  only,  yet  there  would  be  no  injustice  in  suffering 
the  sinner  to  go  on  in  sin,  and  to  punish  him  continually, 
and  without  end,  as  he  sins  :  that  if  God  may,  without  in¬ 
justice,  permit  a  creature  to  fall  into  sin  to-day,  and  punish 
him  for  it,  he  may  do  the  same  to-morrow,  and  through 
any  period  of  his  existence  :  that  if  it  be  just  to  leave  a 
sinner  to  endless  sin,  it  is  just  to  inflict  on  him  endless 
punishment  for  that  endless  sin  :  that,  therefore,  the  end¬ 
less  sin  and  punishment  of  a  creature  is  no  more  inconsist¬ 
ent  with  the  Divine  justice,  than  the  existence  of  sin  and 
punishment  in  any  instance,  and  for  ever  so  short  a  dura¬ 
tion  :  that,  since  it  is  conceded  that  the  sinner  may  be 
justly  punished  until  he  repents,  it  follows  that  if  he  never 
repents,  he  may  be  justly  punished  without  end  :  that, 
therefore,  in  order  to  establish  the  position  that  endless 
punishment  is  not  reconcileable  with  Divine  justice,  it  must 
be  shown  that  it  is  not  consistent  with  Divine  justice  to 
leave  a  sinner  to  proceed  without  end  in  his  own  chosen 
course  of  sin,  and  to  punish  him  daily  for  his  daily  sins  ; 
and  that,  until  this  shall  have  been  done,  it  will  be  in  vain 
to  plead,  that  those  who  die  in  impenitence  will  all  finally 
be  saved,  because  endless  punishment  is  not  reconcileable 
with  the  justice  of  God.* 

This  argument  is  opposed  to  the  plain  and  uniform  doc¬ 
trine  of  Scripture,  and  to  the  universally-received  opinion 
among  Christians,  that  the  punishment  of  the  future  state 
will  be  inflicted  for  the  sins  of  the  present  life.  It  is  never 
said  in  Scripture,  that  in  the  place  of  punishment  to  which 
he  will  be  doomed,  the  sinner  will  go  on  in  sin,  and  be 

*  Salvation  of  all  Men  strictly  examined,  &c.,  chap.  vi.  p.  146. 


200 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


punished  continually  and  without  end  as  he  sins ;  that  he 

will  be  left  to  endless  sin,  and,  that  endless  punishment 

will  be  inflicted  upon  him  for  that  endless  sin.  No  languag*e 

of  this  kind,  no  language  conveying  anything  like  such 

ideas,  is  ever  used  :  but  the  punishment  is  always  said  to 

be  inflicted  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  bodv ;  and  the  sor- 

row  of  the  sinner  is  uniformly  represented  as  excited  by 

recollections  of  the  sins  of  the  present  life,  and  this  is  the 

uniform  opinion  of  Christians  of  all  denominations.  It  is 

not  allowable,  therefore,  for  the  advocate  of  endless  misery, 

when,  in  the  argument  on  the  justice  of  God,  he  is  pressed 

with  the  difficulty  of  explaining  how,  in  consistency  with 

that  justice,  the  sins  of  seventy  years  can  be  visited  with 

an  eternity  of  misery,  to  have  recourse  to  the  supposition 

that  that  misery  may  be  inflicted,  not  for  the  sins  of  the 

present  life  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  future  state, 

which  may  be  committed  in  endless  succession. 

«/ 

But  though  this  supposition  cannot  be  admitted,  even 
granting  that  it  were  just,  the  great  difficulty  with  which 
the  doctrine  of  endless  misery  is  encumbered,  is  not  in  the 
least  removed.  In  order  to  prove  that  endless  punishment 
is  not  reconcileable  with  Divine  justice,  it  must  be  shown, 
it  is  said,  that  it  is  not  consistent  with  Divine  justice  to 
leave  a  sinner  to  proceed  without  end  in  his  own  chosen 
course  of  sin,  and  to  punish  him  daily  for  his  daily  sins.  It 
is  replied,  that  to  leave  the  sinner  in  this  manner,  and 
then  to  punish  him  for  so  sinning,  is  not  only  not  consistent 
with  justice,  but  is  so  utterly  opposed  to  it,  that  it  is  not 
in  the  power  of  the  human  imagination  to  conceive  of  a 
more  flagrant  and  enormous  violation  of  it.  For  God  made 
man  what  he  is  :  God  ordained  the  circumstances  in  which 
man  is  placed  :  God  knew  that  such  circumstances  operat¬ 
ing  on  such  a  creature,  would  inevitably  involve  him  in 
sin  and  misery  through  all  eternity.  With  this  clear  fore¬ 
sight,  to  alter  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the  creature,  to 
alter  nothing  in  the  arrangement  of  the  circumstances,  but 
to  persist  in  giving  him  that  very  nature,  and  in  placing 
him  in  those  very  circumstances,  the  inevitable  result  of 
which  he  knew  would  secure  the  production  of  this  endless 
sin  and  misery  —  is  malignant  in  the  highest  possible 
degree  ;  and,  were  the  Deity  malignity  itself,  he  could  not 
act  worse.  To  speak  of  justice  in  connection  with  such  a 


JUST  PUNISHMENT  CONSISTENT  WITH  GOODNESS.  201 


transaction,  is  an  insult  to  the  human  understanding  :  it 
would  be  inconceivably  less  absurd  to  speak  of  the  excel¬ 
lence  and  beauty  of  the  worst  act  of  the  worst  tyrant  that 
ever  disgraced  humanity.  The  overwhelming  difficulty  of 
attributing1  to  the  benignant  Father  of  mankind  this  liorri- 
ble  injustice  must  always  attach  to  the  doctrine  of  endless 
misery  ;  nor  can  any  ingenuity  or  sophistry  exonerate  it. 
Justice  absolutely  requires  that  the  Creator  should  render 
every  creature  wdiicli  liis  hand  has  formed,  happy  upon  the 
whole, — the  whole  of  his  existence  considered.  Any  pos¬ 
sible  condition  of  any  creature  which  is  consistent  with 
a  balance  of  enjoyment,  is  reconcileable  with  justice : 
no  condition  of  any  creature,  with  whatever  purpose  ap¬ 
pointed,  that  is  not  consistent  with  that  balance,  is  recon¬ 
cileable  with  justice  :  for  the  reason  so  often  assigned  in 
this  work,  that  non-existence  is  no  evil,  but  that  existence 
with  a  preponderance  of  misery  is  ;  and  that  a  being  who 
acts  voluntarily,  and  who  gives  existence,  making  that 
existence  miserable,  proves,  as  clearly  as  it  is  possible  to 
prove,  that  he  is  evil. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  allow  sin  and  misery  to  prevail  for 
a  season,  and  to  make  them  the  means  of  increasing  the 
ultimate  amount  of  happiness,  is  not  only  consistent  with 
justice,  but  may  be  an  evidence,  and  the  more  it  is  con¬ 
sidered,  the  more  clearly  it  appears  to  be  an  evidence,  of 
the  highest  wisdom  and  the  most  perfect  goodness. 

Xor  is  it  proper  to  represent  the  doctrine  of  Universal 
Restoration  as  teaching,  that  sinners  will  ultimately  be  re¬ 
stored  to  happiness  on  the  ground  of  justice.  This  is 
a  favourite  mode  of  representing  the  subject  with  Dr 
Edwards  :  and  because  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  the  com¬ 
munication  of  future  happiness,  are  so  constantly  and 
uniformly  said,  in  Scripture,  to  be  owing  to  the  free  and 
unmerited  goodness  of  God,  any  system  which  seems  to 
make  these  blessings  the  right  of  the  sinner,  will,  of  course, 
appear  inconsistent  both  with  reason  and  Scripture.  There 
is  reason  to  believe,  that  on  certain  minds  this  argument 
has  produced  great  impression ;  but  nothing  can  be  more 
false  than  the  statement  on  which  the  argument  is  founded, 
and  nothing  more  fallacious  than  the  argument  itself.  It 
is  true,  that,  in  a  popular  sense,  the  wicked,  after  they 
hav  endured  the  punishment  which  their  sins  deserve. 


202 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


may  be  said  to  be  exempted  from  further  suffering  on  the 
ground  of  justice  ;  but  still,  if  they  are  permitted  to  enjoy 
future  happiness,  it  is  obvious,  that  all  that  happiness 
is  the  gift  of  pure  goodness.  But  the  full  answer  to  this 
singular  argument  is,  that,  in  strictness,  exemption  from 
farther  punishment,  even  after  the  full  penalty  of  sin  has 
been  endured,  cannot  be  claimed  as  a  right,  because  pun¬ 
ishment  itself  is  goodness ;  goodness  guided  in  its  mani¬ 
festations  by  wisdom ;  goodness  adapting  itself  in  the  best 
possible  manner  to  the  moral  state  of  the  recipient ;  good¬ 
ness,  the  greatest  and  the  best  which  the  Deity  himself, 
under  such  circumstances,  can  bestow.  In  truth,  punishment 
is  the  means,  the  best  and  the  only  means,  by  which  the 
sinner  can  be  rendered  happy ;  and,  therefore,  his  obliga¬ 
tion  to  his  moral  governor  for  punishment,  is  just  the  same 
as  it  is  for  happiness. 

For  goodness  and  justice  are  the  same.  Justice  requires 
no  more  pnnishment  for  sin  than  goodness  :  goodness 
requires  the  same  as  justice,  but  the  manner  in  which 
benevolence  manifests  itself  under  the  form  of  goodness 
and  of  justice  is  different,  and  therefore  requires  a  different 
appellation.  A  person  who  forgives  an  offence  upon  re¬ 
pentance  and  reformation,  is  good :  this  is  one  modifica¬ 
tion  of  goodness,  which,  by  way  of  eminence,  is  often 
called  goodness  itself,  or  more  strictly  mercy  :  the  person 
who  visits  an  offence  which  is  neither  repented  of  nor 
amended  with  a  proper  degree  of  pain  is  also  good  :  this 
is  another  modification  of  goodness  to  which  the  term 
justice  is  applied.  Mercy  and  justice,  therefore,  do  not 
differ  from  each  other  in  their  nature,  since  they  equally 
arise  from  benevolence,  and  they  differ  in  aspect  only 
according  to  the  moral  condition  of  the  being  with  regard 
to  whom  they  are  exemplified.* 

This  account  of  Divine  justice,  explains  in  a  most  satis¬ 
factory  manner  the  principle  on  which  the  Deity  rewards 
and  punishes  mankind.  Did  men  never  violate  the  laws  of 
rectitude,  he  would  make  them  invariably  and  completely 
happy.  But  there  is  no  person  who  is  free  from  fault :  the 
moral  state  of  every  individual  is  in  some  respect,  or  at 
some  period,  such  as  it  ought  not  to  be.  Every  bad  dis¬ 
position,  and  every  improper  habit,  must  be  rectified 

*  Tide  p.  140. 


JUSTICE  DIRECTED  BY  THE  HIGHEST  GOODNESS. 


203 


before  happiness  can  be  enjoyed.  It  is  necessary,  there¬ 
fore,  that  the  moral  Governor  of  the  world  should  vary  his 
conduct  according  to  the  character  of  the  persons  with 
whom  he  has  to  treat;  that  he  should  visit  the  good 
with  favour,  and  manifest  his  disapprobation  of  the 
wicked  ;  for  if  he  were  to  make  happiness  compatible  with 
sin,  it  could  not  be  corrected. 

The  effect  of  pain  is  to  make  us  dislike  and  avoid  that 
which  causes  it.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  pain  is  annexed 
to  sin.  Sin  is  an  evil  which  it  is  necessary  to  remove  : 
pain  is  employed  as  the  instrument  of  its  destruction  :  and 
that  principle  by  which  the  Deity  has  established  this  con¬ 
stitution  of  things;  by  which  he  so  regulates  events  as 
invariably  to  secure  the  ultimate  reward  of  goodness,  and 
the  punishment  of  wickedness,  is  distinguished  by  the 
term  iustice. 

t) 

Again,  then,  we  see  that  goodness  and  justice  are  not  op¬ 
posite  and  opposing  attributes  ;  that  they  have  the  same 
nature,  the  same  origin,  the  same  end ;  that  they  assume  a 
different  aspect,  indeed,  according  to  the  character  of  the 
individual  towards  whom  they  are  exercised  ;  but  that  they 
equally  arise  from  benevolence,  and  are  equally  exerted  to 
promote  happiness.  Justice  is  so  far  from  being  incom¬ 
patible  with  goodness,  that  it  is  the  highest  goodness 
directed  by  the  most  perfect  wisdom. 

Were  it  necessary  to  add  anything  more  to  show,  that 
the  Divine  justice  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  attribute  of 
goodness,  but  a  part  of  it,  the  consideration  of  the  design 
of  its  inflictions  would  afford  further  evidence  of  this  truth. 
Everv  violation  of  the  law  of  God  involves  the  transgressor, 
sooner  or  later,  in  suffering :  and  of  this  constitution 
of  things,  by  which  pain  is  inseparably  connected  with 
deviation  from  rectitude,  the  Supreme  Being  is  the  author. 
\\  hy  did  he  appoint  it  ?  Why  did  he  so  dispose  the  whole 
tendency  of  his  moral  government,  as  to  ensure  this  con¬ 
sequence  ?  Why  does  he,  who  is  a  being  of  unerring  wis¬ 
dom  and  infinite  benevolence,  never  suffer  any  offence 
which  is  unrepented  of  to  escape  punishment  ?  Since  his 
very  nature  is  love,  and  since  he  created  all  his  intelli¬ 
gent  offspring  in  order  to  make  them  happy,  it  can  be  no 
gratification  to  him  to  involve  them  in  suffering.  Their 
groans  can  be  no  music  to  his  ear.  If  he  afflict  them, 


204 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


it  must  be  not  for  bis  own  gratification,  but  for  tbeir 
benefit. 

Neither  is  it  the  part  of  justice  to  indulge  passion,  nor 
to  gratify  revenge,  nor  in  any  mysterious  way  to  satisfy 
the  claims  of  law,  but  to  check  the  progress  of  vice  and 
misery,  by  correcting  the  evil  dispositions  from  which  they 
proceed.  By  inflicting  punishment  on  the  sinner,  it  ac¬ 
complishes  this  in  two  ways.  First,  by  the  effect  of 
example  operating  as  a  warning  on  those  who  may  be  dis¬ 
posed  to  commit  similar  offences  ;  and,  secondly,  by  mak¬ 
ing  the  transgressor  himself  feel  the  evil  consequences  of 
his  conduct,  and  thereby  inducing  him  to  avoid  it  in  future. 
Every  person  allows,  that  the  first  is  one  object  of  the  in¬ 
flictions  of  justice,  but  surely  the  second  is  at  least  equally 
important ;  since  it  applies  to  the  root  of  the  evil  at  once, 
and  aims  to  correct  actual,  while  the  other  can  only  prevent 
possible  evil.  If  the  punishment  which  justice  imposes 
can  prevent  the  commission  of  crimes  in  future,  and  correct 
the  disposition  from  which  the  past  have  proceeded,  it  is 
both  more  perfect  and  more  benevolent  than  if  it  effect  the 
one  without  the  other.  That  it  is  in  itself  possible  to  ac¬ 
complish  both,  cannot  be  denied;  and  since  God  is  able  to 
do  all  that  is  possible,  and  disposed  to  do  all  that  is  best, 
he  must  effect  both. 

In  the  18th  chapter  of  Ezekiel,  there  is  a  beautiful  pas¬ 
sage  which  illustrates  in  a  striking  manner  this  view  of 
the  Divine  justice.  The  house  of  Israel  had  complained 
that  the  conduct  of  God  was  not  just.  He  condescends  to 
reason  with  them  on  the  subject,  and  to  prove  that  his 
dispensations  are  perfectly  equitable.  “  If,”  says  he, 
“  the  wicked  turn  from  all  the  sins  that  he  hath  committed, 
and  keep  all  my  statutes,  and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and 
right,  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall  not  die  :  his  trans¬ 
gressions  that  he  hath  committed  shall  not  be  mentioned 
to  him  ;  in  his  righteousness  that  he  hath  done  he  shall  live. 
Have  I  any  pleasure  at  all  that  the  wicked  should  die, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  and  not  that  he  should  return  from 
his  ways  and  live  ?  But  when  the  righteous  turneth  away 
from  his  righteousness,  and  committeth  iniquity,  and  doeth 
according  to  all  the  abominations  that  the  wicked  man 
doeth,  shall  he  live  ?  All  the  righteousness  that  he  hath 
done  shall  not  be  mentioned  :  in  his  trespass  that  he  has 


GOD  HAS  NO  PLEASURE  IN  MISERY. 


205 


trespassed,  and  in  his  sins  that  he  has  sinned,  he  shall  die. 
Yet  ye  say  that  the  way  of  the  Lord  is  not  equal.  Hear 
now,"  0  house  of  Israel,  is  not  my  way  equal,  and  are  not 
your  ways  unequal  ?  When  a  righteous  man  turneth  away 
from  his  righteousness  and  committetli  iniquity,  and  dieth 
in  them,  for  his  iniquity  that  he  hath  done  he  shall  die. 
Again,  when  the  wicked  man  turneth  away  from  his 
wickedness  that  he  hath  committed,  and  doeth  that  which 
is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  save  his  soul  alive.  Because 
he  consideretli  and  turneth  away  from  all  his  transgressions 
that  he  hath  committed,  he  shall  surely  live ;  he  shall  not  die.” 

This  is  as  though  he  had  said — When  the  wicked  man 

o 

turns  from  his  sins,  I  cease  to  punish  him.  I  do  not  re¬ 
member  against  him  his  former  transgressions.  His  moral 
state  is  changed ;  my  conduct  towards  him  is  therefore  no 
longer  the  same.  While  he  was  wedded  to  transgression 
it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  punished.  Now  that  he 
is  repentant  and  obedient,  it  has  ceased  to  be  so,  and  I 
may  visit  him  with  the  smiles  of  favour.  I  have  no  pleasure 
in  his  misery  or  death  :  neither  can  benefit  or  gratify  me  : 
all  my  dispensations  are  designed  and  have  a  tendency  to 
make  him  in  love  with  life,  with  goodness,  and  with  hap¬ 
piness. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  righteous  man  forsake  the 
path  of  rectitude,  and  do  according  to  the  abominations  of 
the  wicked,  I  suffer  him  no  longer  to  be  at  peace  ;  I  permit 
not  his  former  righteousness  to  secure  him  from  punishment. 
It  is  necessary  that  experience  should  teach  him  the  error 
of  his  choice.  It  is  the  only  way  to  rectify  his  will  and 
reclaim  his  heart.  Is  not  this  conduct  consistent  with 
justice  ?  Does  not  justice  render  it  indispensable  ?  To 
both  I  act  as  their  moral  state  requires  ;  and  thus  I  will 
always  act.  The  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall  be 
upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon 
him.  Do  you  demand  the  reason  of  my  conduct  ?  It  is 
because  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  misery  of  the  wicked, 
and  because  it  is  the  object  of  my  dispensations  to  make 
the  wicked  righteous,  and  the  righteous  happy. 

Such  is  the  principle  according  to  which  the  moral 
Governor  of  the  world  himself  declares  that  he  invariably 
regulates  his  conduct.  Nothing  surely  can  afford  a  more 
solid  ground  of  confidence  and  trust.  In  the  state  in  which 


206 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


liis  wisdom  lias  seen  fit  to  place  ns  on  tlie  earth,  there  is  ranch 
which,  to  onr  short-sighted  view,  may  seem  inconsistent 
with  perfect  rectitude.  When  we  see  the  triumph  of  the 
vicious  and  the  fall  of  the  virtuous ;  when  we  behold  the 
prevalence  of  natural  and  moral  evil,  and  contemplate  the 
wickedness  and  rniserv  which  desolate  the  earth,  who  is 
there  that  is  not  sometimes  ready  to  raise  a  murmur  against 
the  Sovereign  Ruler  of  events,  or  who  does  not  lift, 
trembling1,  his  eve  to  his  throne,  half  doubting  whether 
there  be  indeed  an  all-perfect  Ruler  there  ?  When  the 
storm  of  adversity  falls  with  violence  on  our  head ;  when 
our  hearts  ache  with  suffering,  or  when  we  weep  for  the 
woes  of  those  who  are  dear  to  us  as  ourselves ;  when  our 
brightest  hopes  are  shrouded  in  disappointment ;  when 
our  comforts  are  snatched  from  us,  and  the  merciless 
Spoiler  bears  to  the  tomb  our  best-loved  friends ;  the  soul 
desponding  asks,  if  that  can  be  wisdom  which  occasions 
such  terrible  emotion,  or  that  goodness  which  gives  but  to 
take  away  ?  It  is  a  suspicion  which  agony  extorts  from 
human  infirmity.  But  in  the  Christianas  breast  it  is  onlv 
the  suspicion  of  a  moment.  Nowhere  can  he  direct  his 
attention  without  perceiving  traces  of  the  goodness  of  God, 
nor  even  in  the  hour  of  deepest  sorrow  can  he  look  inward 
on  himself,  without  discovering  numberless  proofs  of 
mercy.  His  faith  revives.  The  iron  grasp  of  despair 
loosens  its  hold  of  his  heart.  Again  he  is  himself,  and 
while  his  principled  resume  their  wonted  influence  in  his 
soul,  the  language  of  reviving  hope  and  trust  falls  from  his 
lips — “  f  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ? 3 

I  o  o 

Can  he,  whose  benevolence  called  me  into  being,  made 
me  what  I  am,  and  gave  me  what  I  possess,  forget  to  be 
gracious,  or  treat  me  with  injustice  ?  It  is  impossible  ! 

‘  Justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne  ! ;  >} 

But  it  is  not  to  the  sorrows  of  life  alone,  that  this  view  of 
the  Divine  justice  applies  its  sustaining  energy.  It  sup¬ 
ports  our  hopes  in  the  prospect  of  that  awful  day,  which  it 
is  so  difficult  to  contemplate  with  composure.  There  are 
moments,  when  the  most  pious  and  holy  tremble  at  the 
thought  of  appearing  before  the  tribunal  of  the  Judge  of 
the  whole  earth;  but  the  conviction  that  his  decisions 
must  tend  to  promote  the  ultimate  welfare  of  all  intelligent 
beings,  subdues  every  gloomy  and  mistrustful  fear. 


GOD  WILL  JUDGE  MANKIND  WITH  EQUITY. 


207 


It  is  not  merely  for  his  own  felicity  that  the  good  man 
is  concerned.  He  looks  beyond  himself.  The  destiny  of 
others  affects  his  own.  If  the  great  majority  of  his  fellow- 
creatures  are  to  be  banished  to  irremediable  and  endless 
woe,  he  feels  that  he  cannot  be  happy.  “  Merciful  Father 
(his  own  felicity  excites  the  exclamation,  and  he  cannot  re¬ 
press  it;  Merciful  Father,  he  cries),  can  any  attribute  of 
thy  nature  reauir-e  this  ?  Canst  thou  have  formed  the 
great  majority  of  thy  creatures  on  purpose  to  torment  them  ? 
Oh  no  :  every  perfection  of  thy  nature,  the  operation  of 
which  is  felt  by  man,  must  be  exerted  for  his  good  ! 33 

Viewing,  then,  the  attribute  of  justice,  which  has  been 
supposed  to  require  the  endless  misery  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  human  race,  as  that  very  principle  which  is  designed 
to  prevent  this  terrible  consequence,  he  feels  himself  capa¬ 
ble  of  relying  with  implicit  confidence  on  the  decisions  of 
the  Judge,  both  with  regard  to  himself  and  to  all  mankind. 
He  is  satisfied  that  he  will  treat  even  the  most  criminal 
with  perfect  equity;  that  he  will  place  them  in  circum¬ 
stances  the  best  adapted  to  their  unhappy  condition ;  that 
his  discipline  will  ultimately  accomplish  its  end,  and  ex¬ 
tirpate  sin  and  misery  from  the  creation. 

By  this  attribute,  then,  must  be  determined  the  future 
destiny  of  all  reasonable  beings  !  How  deeply  ought  this 
solemn  truth  to  be  engraven  on  every  mind  !  How  weak, 
how  foolish  is  the  indulgence  of  any  criminal  propensity  ! 
The  scrutiny  of  Omniscience  is  on  us.  The  power  of  Om¬ 
nipotence  surrounds  us.  The  decisions  of  unerring  justice 
await  us.  Who  then  can  sin  with  the  hope  of  impunity  ? 
Let  the  wicked  man  hear  and  tremble ;  for  remorse  and 
woe  await  him  ;  and  let  him  that  conceiveth  iniquity  in 
his  heart,  consider  with  himself,  that  justice  and  judgment 
are  the  habitation  of  the  throne  of  the  Great  Being  with 

O 

whom  he  has  to  do. 


208 


PART  III. 

CHAPTER  II.— Section  III. 

OF  THE  ARGUMENT  IN  FAVOUR  OF  ENDLESS  MISERY,  FOUNDED 

ON  THE  DIVINE  SOVEREIGNTY. 

If  tlie  justice  of  God  afford  no  argument  in  favour  of 
the  doctrine  of  endless  misery,  still  less  is  it  supported  by 
the  Divine  sovereignty.  If  by  the  sovereignty  of  God  be 
meant  his  exemption  from  control,  this  may  be  a  reason 
for  his  doing  what  is  right,  but  cannot  be  a  reason  for  his 
doing  what  is  wrong.  If  he  have  benevolence  to  design 
the  ultimate  happiness  of  all,  wisdom  to  discern  the  means 
of  securing  his  purpose,  and  if  he  be  absolutely  sovereign, 
that  is,  if  there  be  no  superior  power  to  control  his  will, 
this  is  so  far  from  affording  an  argument  against  the  final 
prevalence  of  purity  and  enjoyment,  that  it  forms  a  solid 
foundation  on  which  the  hope  of  it  may  be  established. 

If  from  the  sovereigntv  of  God  it  be  inferred,  that  he 
can  do  whatever  he  pleases,  this  conclusion  is  certainly 
just;  but  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered,  that 
there  are  some  things  which  he  cannot  will.  To  suppose, 
for  example,  that  he  could  create  millions  of  beings  with  a 
determination  to  doom  them  to  intolerable  and  endless 
agony,  contradicts  every  idea  of  his  character  which  natural 
and  revealed  religion  teach,  and  cannot  possibly  be  proved 
by  the  admission  that  he  possesses  unlimited  power ;  for 
though  he  be  sovereign,  and  can  do  what  he  will,  he  is  also 
good,  and  cannot  will  what  is  malevolent. 

It  has  been  objected  to  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restora¬ 
tion,  as  has  already  been  observed,  that  it  places  the  future 
happiness  of  mankind  on  the  footing  of  right  and  claim. 
Nothing  can  be  less  true.  The  advocates  of  this  opinion 
are  so  far  from  believing  that  endless  happiness  can  be  de¬ 
manded  as  a  right,  that  thev  contend  that  no  creature  has 
a  claim  to  existence  himself,  much  less  to  this  or  to  that 
degree  of  eniovment.  Thev  maintain  that  life  is  so  entirely 
a  free  gift,  that  every  intelligent  being,  however  low  his 
rank  in  the  scale  of  creation,  or  however  little  his  happi- 


CHEERING  PROSPECT  OF  UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION.  209 


ness  exceeds  liis  misery,  ought,  if  his  pleasure  do  prepon¬ 
derate,  to  receive  the  boon  with  gratitude  :  but  they  con¬ 
tend,  that  if  the  balance  of  enjoyment  be  against  him,  he 
has  nothing*  for  which  to  be  thankful,  and  that  a  benevolent 
being,  who  causes  him  to  live  for  ever,  must  make  his 
immortality  a  blessing. 

Such,  then,  are  the  arguments  which  are  commonly 
urged  in  support  of  the  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery,  whether 
derived  from  the  language  of  Scripture,  or  from  considera¬ 
tions  which  are  independent  of  it.  If  to  affirm,  that  no 
sober  mind  can  consider  them  with  candour  without  being 
satisfied  of  their  insufficiency  and  fallacy,  be  rather  the 
language  of  strong  individual  conviction,  than  of  prudence 
or  of  truth;  it  may  at  least  be  said,  that  the  preceding 
observations  deserve  the  serious  attention  of  every  person 
who  wishes  to  contemplate  the  Deity  with  reverence  and 
love,  or  to  vindicate  the  claims  of  the  Christian  system  to 
the  respect  and  reception  of  reflective  men. 

The  cheering  and  benevolent  tendency  of  a  belief  in  the 
ultimate  happiness  of  all  intelligent  beings  ought,  at  least, 
to  entitle  it  to  attention.  He  who  believes  that  the  whole 
svstem  of  things  is  under  the  wisest  and  the  best  direction, 
has  a  source  of  consolation  which  must  be  entirely  un¬ 
known  to  him  whose  system  leads  him  to  suspect  that  the 
wisdom  and  benevolence  of  its  Author  are  limited  and 
partial.  Embracing  the  faith  of  the  first,  when  true  to  my 
principles,  I  can  contemplate  the  present  with  complacency, 
and  anticipate  the  future  with  delight.  I  can  look  upon 
adversity  with  resignation  ;  upon  prosperity  with  a  calm 
and  chastened  joy.  I  can  smile  even  in  those  moments 
when  neither  philosophy  nor  religion  can  check  the 
starting  tear.  I  see,  it  is  true,  that  man  is  born  to  trouble, 
that  his  days  are  few  and  evil,  that  impurity  stains  him, 
that  passion  blinds  him,  that  evil  of  every  kind  assails 
him,  and  that  a  future  state  will  increase  the  misery  of 
many  individuals  for  a  very  protracted  period ;  but  I  see, 
too,  a  principle  at  work,  which  must  finally  destroy  it, 
I  see  the  hand  of  the  Deity  arranging  every  event  with 
excpiisite  skill  and  unbounded  benignity.  I  see  the  pro¬ 
spect  brighten  as  the  wheels  of  time  revolve,  developing 
gradually  the  stupendous  scheme,  and  manifesting  at  every 
movement  new  indications  of  wisdom,  and  new  demonstra- 

14 


210 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


tions  of  love.  I  see  at  the  helm  of  affairs  an  intelligence 
which  cannot  err,  a  watchfulness  which  cannot  tire,  a  be¬ 
nignity  which  cannot  be  unkind,  and  a  powrer  which  cannot 
be  frustrated.  I  see  at  the  head  of  his  large  family  a 
Father,  whose  equal  love  is  extended  to  every  individual, 
who  is  labouring  to  promote  the  happiness  of  each  alike, 
according  to  the  measure  of  capacity  he  has  given,  and 
who  will  not  labour  in  vain.  Though  clouds  and  darkness 
are  round  about  him,  I  am  satisfied  that  righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne.  I  therefore 
bow  with  resignation,  where  I  cannot  exult  with  joy,  and 
glow  with  hope,  even  when  nearest  to  despair. 

But  to  those  who  believe  that  our  heavenly  Father  is 
partial  and  capricious  in  his  kindness — that  he  is  the  cruel 
and  inexorable  tyrant  of  the  great  majority  of  his  creatures 
— that,  by  an  irreversible  decree,  he  doomed  them  millions 
of  ages  before  their  existence  to  unutterable  torments, 
and  that  a  few  only  escape  this  horrid  fate,  with  affection¬ 
ate  and  solemn  earnestness  I  would  say,  How  can  you  be 
happy  ?  How  can  you  be  happy  even  for  yourself  ? 
How  great  are  the  chances,  that  you  are  not  in  the  num¬ 
ber  of  the  elect  !  How  many  thousands  are  passed  by  ! 
How  few  are  the  chosen  l  How  much  more  probable  is  it, 
that  you  are  among  the  thousands  than  among  the  few  ! 
Why  do  you  believe  that  you  are  the  favourite  of  heaven  ? 
What  mark  is  engraven  on  your  forehead — what  sensations 
are  peculiar  to  your  heart — what  is  there  in  your  dis¬ 
positions  or  your  conduct,  by  which  you  have  ascertained 
the  important  fact  ?  You  think  you  are  one  of  the  elect. 
It  may  be  so.  But  it  may  not  be  so.  When  the  chances 
are  so  much  against  you,  you  cannot  be  certain  of  anything. 
It  is,  then,  uncertain,  whether  you  are  destined  to  the  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  unutterable  and  everlastingpleasure,  or  to  the  endur¬ 
ance  of  endless  and  inconceivable  torments.  You  flatter 
yourself  that  the  happy  portion  will  be  yours.  But  men 
easily  flatter  themselves.  What  if  you  should  be  buoying' 
yourself  with  a  delusive  expectation  ?  When  such  happiness 
is  at  stake,  when  such  misery  impends,  and  when  both  are 
shrouded  in  such  awful  uncertainty,  how  can  you  enjoy  a 
momenFs  peace  ? 

But,  supposing  that  you  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  re¬ 
gard  to  your  own  condition,  are  your  anxieties  confined  to 


EFFECTS  OF  SELFISH  SPIRITUAL  PRIDE. 


211 


your  own  welfare,  and  do  you  care  only  for  yourself?  Are 
you  a  father  ?  Are  you  a  mother  ?  Do  you  love  your 
children,  and  do  you  really  think  of  the  doctrines  you  pro¬ 
fess  to  believe  ?  If  so,  how  can  you  possibly  be  happy  ? 
In  imagination  I  often  accompany  you  into  the  bosom  of 
your  family.  I  see  your  eye  rest  with  anxious  fondness 
on  your  smiling  babes.  I  see  the  tear  start  to  it.  I  do 
not  wonder  at  it.  I  should  be  less  surprised  did  your 
tears  unceasingly  flow,  and  were  your  very  hearts  to  break. 
That  child,  of  whom  you  are  so  fond,  whose  innocence 
affects,  and  whose  prattle  delights  you,  what  will  be  its 
eternal  destiny  ?  What  uncertainty  is  there  !  What 
horror  may  he  there  !  If,  when  you  are  in  Abraham  A 
bosom,  you  should  look  beyond  the  gulf  which  divides 
you,  and  behold  it  lifting  up  its  eyes  in  torments,  and  im¬ 
ploring  you  in  vain  for  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  quench  its 
parched  tongue — if  you  should  know  that  this  state  of 
dreadful  misery  will  be  without  end,  and  that  its  sufferings 
will  answer  no  purpose,  would  heaven  afford  you  the  least 
enjoyment  ?  Could  you  contemplate  with  complacency 
the  author  of  its  misery  ?  Could  you  surround  his  throne 
with  songs  of  praise,  exclaiming,  in  grateful  triumph, 
“  Alleluia,  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth  F 

*  Yes ;  there  are  persons  in  whom  system  has  so  completely  subdued  the 
feelings  of  humanity,  that  they  have  brought  themselves  to  view  this  horrid  pic¬ 
ture  with  a  steady  gaze,  to  contemplate  it  with  complacency — nay,  even  to 
affirm  that  it  is  beautiful  and  glorious.  “The  Lamb  of  God  shall  roar  as  a 
lion  against  them  :  he  shall  excommunicate  and  cast  them  out  of  his  presence 
for  ever  by  a  sentence  from  the  throne,  saying,  ‘  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed.’ 
lie  shall  adjudge  them  to  everlasting  fire,  and  the  society  of  devils  for  evermore. 
And  this  sentence  we  suppose  shall  be  pronounced  with  an  audible  voice,  by  the 
man  Christ.  And  ail  the  saints  shall  say,  ‘  Hallelujah,  true  and  righteous  are 
his  judgments.'  Xone  were  so  compassionate  as  the  saints,  when  on  earth, 
during  the  time  of  God’s  patience.  But,  now  that  time  is  at  an  end,  their 
compassion  on  the  ungodly  is  swallowed  up  in  joy,  in  the  Mediator’s  glory, 
and  his  executing  of  just  judgment,  by  which  his  enemies  are  made  his  footstool. 
Though  sometimes  the  righteous  man  did  weep  in  secret  places  for  their  pride, 
and  because  they  would  not  hear,  yet  then  he  ‘  shall  rejoice  when  he  seeth  the 
vengeance ,  he  shall  wash  liis  feet  in  the  blood  of  the  wicked.' — Psalm  lviii.  10. 
Xo  pity  shall  then  be  shown  to  them  from  their  nearest  relations.  The  godly 
wife  shall  applaud  the  justice  of  the  Judge,  in  the  condemnation  of  her  ungodly 
husband.  The  godly  husband  shall  say  Amen  to  the  damnation  of  her  who  lay 
in  his  bosom.  The  godly  parents  shall  say  Hallelujah,  at  the  passing  of  the 
sentence  against  their  ungodly  child  ;  and  the  godly  child  shall,  from  his  heart, 
approve  the  damnation  of  bis  wicked  parents,  the  father  who  begat  him,  and  the 
mother  who  bore  him.’’ — Boston's  Fourfold  State ,  state  iv.,  head  iv.,  sect.  9. 

After  this,  can  we  wonder  that  system  should  have  so  perverted  the  under- 

14  * 


212 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


It  is  impossible.  Can  doctrines  which,  if  they  are 
seriously  thought  of,  must  poison  the  sweetest  sources  of 
human  felicity,  convert  heaven  itself  into  a  place  of  torment, 
and  force  every  feeling  mind  to  contemplate  the  Deity 
with  horror,  be  founded  in  truth,  or  form  a  part  of  the 
revelation  of  the  God  of  truth  ?  It  cannot  be.  Every 
serious  and  pious  mind  must  rejoice  to  find  that  those  ex¬ 
pressions  which  occasionally  occur  in  Scripture,  and  which 
may  at  first  sight  seem  to  favour  these  frightful  opinions, 
admit  of  a  rational  and  consistent  interpretation,  without 
supposing  their  truth;  while  it  abounds  with  many  ex¬ 
pressions  which  can  have  no  meaning,  and  entire  series  of 
reasoning  which  can  have  no  object,  unless  they  are  false. 


PAET  III.— CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  LIMITED  PUNISHMENT,  TERMINATED  £T 

DESTRUCTION. 

Many  Christians  of  the  highest  reputation  for  wisdom 
and  piety,  in  all  ages  of  the  Church,  have  maintained  that 
the  wicked  will  neither  be  punished  with  endless  misery, 
nor  permitted  to  be  happy  at  any  period  of  their 
future  being,  but  that  they  will  be  raised  from  the  dead 
afflicted  with  severe  and  lasting  •  suffering,  and  then 
undergo  death  a  second  time,  from  which  they  will  never 

O  J  _  v 

be  restored  to  conscious  existence.  This  hypothesis, 
as  it  supposes  the  infliction  of  a  degree  of  pain  which  is 
exactly  proportioned  in  every  case  to  the  degree  of  guilt, 
and  which  is  followed  by  the  total  and  endless  extinction  of 
intelligence  and  life,  is  called  the  doctrine  of  Limited 
Punishment,  terminated  by  Destruction. 

Many  passages  of  Scripture  are  conceived  not  only 
strongly  to  favour,  but  expressly  to  assert  this  opinion. 
It  is  true,  that  it  is  countenanced  by  the  sound  of  several 

standing,  as  to  lead  it  to  approve  of  the  infliction  of  pain,  imprisonment,  and 
death,  for  an  adherence  to  what  was  conscientiously  believed  to  be  the  truth, 
and  so  corrupted  the  heart,  as  to  make  it  triumph  in  the  subdual  of  its  best 
feelings,  which  rose  against  the  dreadful  injustice  and  cruelty,  as  the  noblest 
effort  of  heroic  piety  ?  After  this,  will  any  one  venture  to  maintain,  that  mere 
speculative  opinions,  as  many  persons  term  them,  are  of  little  importance  ? 


NOT  IN  THE  NATURE  OF  PUNISHMENT  TO  BE  ENDLESS.  213 


expressions  which  occur  in  the  New  Testament ;  but  a 
careful  examination  of  these  terms  will  perhaps  show  that 
their  genuine  meaning  is  widely  different  from  that  which 
a  less  thorough  investigation  might  seem  to  indicate,  and 
that  there  is  no  foundation  in  Scripture  for  this  hypothesis. 

1st.  The  advocates  of  this  opinion,  like  the  defenders  of 
the  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery,  endeavour  to  establish  it 
on  the  term,  cl'mvlos,  which  they  contend  signifies  endless 
duration ;  and  some  go  so  far  as  to  maintain  that  it  is  in¬ 
variably  used  in  this  sense,  and  that  it  never  denotes  a 
«/  _  ' 

limited  period.*  But  in  opposition  to  those  who  plead  for 
unending  torment,  they  argue  that  punishment,  not  misery, 
is  the  substantive  to  which  the  adjective  is  applied — that 
there  may  be  everlasting  punishment  without  everlasting 
miserv,  and  that  the  former,  not  the  latter,  is  invariably 
threatened  in  the  sacred  writings.  They  maintain,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  word  which  is  translated  everlasting  does 
signify  duration  without  end. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  here  the  observations  which 
have  been  made  upon  this  term.  The  evidence  which  has 
been  adduced  of  its  frequent  acceptation  in  a  limited  sense 
appears  to  be  irresistible ;  and  though  it  must  be  admitted, 
that  it  does  sometimes  denote  endless  duration,  yet.  it 
has  been  clearly  shown,  that  this  is  the  case  only  when  the 
nature  of  the  subject  to  which  it  is  applied  necessarily  im¬ 
plies  unending  existence,  and  that  then  it  derives  the 
meaning  of  endless  from  the  subject. 

The  word  being  in  itself  equivocal,  and  capable  both  of 
a  limited  and  of  an  unlimited  signification,  the  only  ques¬ 
tion  which  can  be  agitated  is  whether,  when  applied  to 
future  punishment,  it  does  or  does  not  denote  duration 
without  end.  If  the  affirmative  be  maintained,  it  must  be 
shown  that  there  is  something  in  this  subject  which 
necessarily  imparts  to  it  the  sense  of  endless.  Every  argu¬ 
ment  founded  upon  it,  unless  this  be  premised,  must  be 
futile,  and  the  advocate  for  the  doctrine  of  destruction,  in 
venturing  to  employ  it,  without  first  establishing  this  point, 
rests  his  hvnothesis  upon  a  term  which  makes  as  much 
against  it  as  for  it.  But  if,  instead  of  being  able  to  per¬ 
form  this  task,  his  opponent  can  show  that  the  reverse  is 

*  See  the  Universal  Restoration  of  Mankind  Examined,  &c.  By  Mr  John 
Mabsox.  Yol.  i.,  pp.  134,  135. 


214 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


true,  and  prove  (as  has  been  proved,  pp.  103 — 108),  that 
the  nature  of  punishment  will  not  admit  of  this  accept¬ 
ation  of  the  term,  the  controversy,  as  far  as  this  word  is 
concerned,  must  be  considered  as  decided,  in  the  opinion 
of  every  one  who  understands  the  principles  of  fair  and 
legitimate  reasoning. 

2nd.  The  advocates  of  the  doctrine  of  destruction  contend 
that  those  passages  which  affirm  that  the  wicked  shall 
'perish  or  be  destroyed,  and  that  they  shall  suffer  death  or 
destruction,  decidedly  prove  that  they  will  be  punished  with 
the  utter  extinction  of  being.  This  argument  is  founded 
on  the  presumption  that  these  expressions  denote  the  end¬ 
less  loss  of  conscious  existence.  Few  persons,  perhaps, 
will  rise  from  an  investigation  of  this  point  without  a  con¬ 
viction,  that  there  is  no  foundation  whatever  for  this 
assumption. 

Anokkvyi,  the  word  commonly  rendered  to  perish  or  de¬ 
stroy,  occurs  about  ninety  times  in  the  New  Testament. 
It  is  used  in  several  different  senses,  as,  to  lose,  to  lose 
life,  or  to  lose  anything — to  kill  or  destroy  temporally, 
and  this  is  its  most  freauent  signification  ;  but  it  often 
means,  also,  to  render  miserable,  and  is  used  to  denote  the; 
infliction  of  pain  or  punishment.  Sclileusner  renders  it 
miserum  reddo,  pcenis  afficio ,  molestiam  ac  indignationem 
creo  alicui.  Romans  ii.  12  ;  xiv.  15;  1  Corinthians  xv.  18. 

Anokeia,  generally  translated  death  or  destruction, 
occurs  about  twenty  times  in  the  New  Testament.  It 
sometimes  signifies  death,  or  temporal  destruction— at 
others,  injury,  hurt,  or  calamity  of  any  kind.  Sckleusner 
renders  it  unhappiness,  any  calamity  or  misery,  and  ob¬ 
serves  that  it  is  especially  used  to  denote  the  divine  punish¬ 
ment  of  offences,  both  in  this  and  in  a  future  life.  His  words 
are,  infelicitas,  omnis  calamitas,  miseria,  et  speciatim  de 
pcenis  clivinis  peccatorum  et  in  hac  et  in  futura  vita  usurpa- 
tur.  Matthew  vii.  13;  Romans  ix.  12;  Philippians  i.  28. 

3rd.  The  word  okebpos,  commonly  rendered  destruction, 
signifies,  also,  pain,  misery,  punishment.  Sclileusner  ren¬ 
ders  it  poena,  dolor,  vexatio ,  cruciatus.  1  Corinthians  v.  5, 
u  Deliver  such  a  one  to  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the 
flesh ;  33  et?  okebpov  rys  aapKos,  ut  corpus  erucietur  et  do- 
loribus  afficiatur.  “  Some  bodily  pain  was  inflicted,  in 
order  to  produce  repentance  and  reformation.” — Simpson. 


DOCTRINE  OF  TOTAL  DESTRUCTION  EXAMINED. 


215 


The  application  of  cucovlos  to  this  word,  in  2  Thessalonians 
i.  9  (“  who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruc¬ 
tion)  ”  cannot  prove  that  this  expression  denotes  the 
endless  extinction  of  consciousness  and  life,  because  it  has 
been  shown  that  oXeOpos,  when  affixed  to  the  punishment 
of  the  guilty,  means  pain  and  suffering,  and  that  cucovlos 
signifies,  not  proper  eternity,  but  lasting  duration. 

4th.  On  the  word  Oavaros,  death,  and  the  phrase,  bev- 
repos  Qavaros,  the  second  death,  the  advocates  of  the 
doctrine  of  destruction  lay  the  greatest  stress.  They  con¬ 
tend  that  the  strict  and  invariable  meaning  of  death  is  the 
total  extinction  of  consciousness  and  life — that  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection  affords  ns  the  only  satisfactory  evidence 
we  enjoy,  that  this  extinction  of  being  will  not  be  endless, 
and  that,  since  the  wicked  are  threatened  with  a  second 
death,  from  which  there  is  no  promise  of  deliverance,  we 
must  conclude  that  their  punishment  will  consist  in 
absolute  and  irrecoverable  destruction. 

A  little  attention  to  the  subject  will  probably  show  that 
the  fundamental  principle  upon  which  this  argument  is 
founded  is  fallacious.  Qararos  does  not  denote  the  endless 
extinction  of  conscious  existence.  It  occurs  in  the  New 
Testament  in  several  different  senses,  but  never  once  in  this, 
when  used  concerning  intelligent  beings.  When  it  relates 
to  the  guilty,  it  denotes,  like  the  other  terms  which  have 
been  considered,  pain,  punishment,  suffering.  Schleusner 
observes  that  it  signifies,  1st,  Properly  natural  death,  or 
the  separation  of  the  soul  from  the  body,  not  occasioned 
by  external  violence.  2nd,  Violent  death,  or  the  punish¬ 
ment  of  death.  3rd,  Per  metonymiam,  quodvis  gravius 
malum  et  periculum  mortis.  4th,  Pestis,  morbus  pestiferus. 
5th,  Any  hind  of  misery  and  unhappiness,  hut  chiefly  the  punish - 
ment  of  wickedness,  and  of  offences  in  this,  as  icell  as  in  a  future 
life :  omnis  miser  ia  et  inf  elicit  as,  maxime  qnce  est  ritiositatis 
et  pecccitorum  poena  in  hac  pariter  ac  in  futura  vita.  1  John 
iii.  14  ;  Romans  vii.  24  ;  John  v.  24  ;  Romans  i.  32. 

It  must  be  evident,  then,  that  these  words,  when  applied 
to  future  punishment,  do  not  denote  literal  and  absolute 
destruction,  or  the  extinction  of  conscious  existence,  but 
the  pain  and  suffering  which  will  be  inflicted  upon  the 
guilty,  in  consequence  of  their  offences.  By  attaching  this 
meaning  to  these  terms,  we  render  every  passage  in  which 


216 


THE  DIVINE-  GOVERNMENT. 


they  occur  consistent  with  the  general  tenor  of  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  the  New  Testament,  with  the  benevolent-  spirit  of 
the  gospel,  and  with  the  perfections  of  the  Divine  Being ; 
but  the  argument  attempted  to  be  deduced  from  them,  in 
favour  of  the  doctrine  of  destruction,  is  founded  merely  on 
their  sound,  without  regarding  their  real  and  Scriptural 
meaning. 

But,  even  were  the  fundamental  principle  upon  which  it 
is  attempted  to  establish  this  hypothesis — namely,  that 
death  signifies  the  eternal  extinction  of  consciousness  and 
life — admitted  (though  it  has  been  proved  to  be  false), 
instead  of  supporting  the  doctrine  of  limited  punishment, 
terminated  by  destruction,  it  would  be  fatal  to  it ;  for,  if 
death  denote,  together  with  the  disorganization  of  the 
corporeal  frame,  the  utter  extinction  of  the  intellectual 
faculty,  the  wicked  cannot  be  punished  in  a  future  state 
with  great  and  protracted  suffering,  as  this  hypothesis 
teaches,  because  the  moment  which  terminates  their  mortal 
existence  must,  according’  to  this  meaning  of  the  term, 
put  an  eternal  period  to  their  being. 

Should  it  be  urged,  that  the  Scriptures  affirm  that  the 
wicked  shall  awake  from  the  sleep  of  death,  and  suffer  the 
punishment  due  to  their  sins,  it  is  obvious  that  this  very 
argument  proves,  in  the  most  decisive  manner,  that  the 
meaning  attempted  to  be  affixed  to  the  terms  we  are  con¬ 
sidering  is  not  just,  and  establishes  the  important  conclu¬ 
sion,  that  death  is  not  the  end/css  deprivation  of  life,  nor 
destruction  the  everlasting  extinction  of  the  intellectual 
principle. 

If  it  be  contended,  that  we  are  assured  that  the  wicked 
will  undergo  death  again  after  their  resurrection,  and  that 
we  have  no  authority  for  supposing  that  they  will  be  re¬ 
stored  a  second  time  to  life,  then  the  ground  of  the  argu¬ 
ment  is  changed  ;  it  is  made  to  depend  entirely  upon  those 
expressions  which  either  affirm  or  imply  that  the  wicked 
will  be  punished  with  the  second  death ;  the  controversy 
is  thus  brought  into  a  very  narrow  compass. 

With  respect  to  the  phrase,  bevrepo s  Oavaros,  the  second 
death,  it  is  obvious,  that,  were  death  really  the  endless  ex¬ 
tinction  of  organized  and  intelligent  existence,  the  expres¬ 
sion,  second  death,  would  be  absurd ;  for  there  could  be  no 
second  death,  were  the  first  absolute  and  eternal. 


DEATH  SWALLOWED  UP  IN  VICTOEY. 


217 


f  c 


)) 


If  it  be  just  to  give  a  literal  interpretation  to  this  phrase, 
it  seems  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the  wicked  will  die 
a  second  time ;  yet  it  is  not  affirmed  that  they  will  never 
rise  ao’ain.  Of  the  first  resurrection  we  are  certain,  and 

O  #  y 

we  have  no  assurance  that  there  will  not  be  a  second. 
There  is  no  passage  of  Scripture  hostile  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  will.  Should  it  be  inferred,  that  a  second  re¬ 
surrection  will  not  take  place,  because  there  is  no  express 
promise  to  authorize  the  expectation,  it  may  with  equal 
justice  be  concluded  that  there  mill,  because  it  is  not  posi¬ 
tively  affirmed  that  there  will  not.  Of  these  opposite 
inferences,  the  latter  is  at  least  as  well  founded  as  the 
former;  nay,  it  is  much  more  so,  because  the  first  is  in¬ 
compatible  with  some  passages  of  Scripture,  but  the  second 
is  contradicted  by  none,  and  is  directly  supported  by 
several,  particularly  by  those  which  speak  of  a  first  re¬ 
surrection  ;  for  a  first  resurrection  implies  a  second.  ■ 

It  is  affirmed,  1  Corinthians  xv.  26,  that  the  last  enemy 
which  shall  be  destroyed  is  death — that  death  is  swallowed 

t/ 

up  in  victory — that  Jesus  Christ  has  abolished  death,  and 
brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  by  the  gospel,  2 
Timothy  i.  1 0.  But  if  the  second  death  be  absolutely 
endless,  or  reduce  the  subjects  of  it  to  a  state  of  total  and 
eternal  unconsciousness,  death  is  not  abolished ;  its  dura¬ 
tion  is  commensurate  with  eternity it  is  not  vanquished 
— it  is  the  victor  ;  it  is  not  destroyed — it  triumphs. 

To  the  doctrine  of  destruction,  as  well  as  to  that  of  end¬ 
less  misery,  the  great  truth,  that  there  will  be  a  resurrec¬ 
tion  both  of  the  just  and  of  the  unjust,  is  decidedly  hostile. 
Who  can  believe  that  the  benevolent  Father  of  the  human 
race  will  call  the  greater  part  of  his  creatures  from  the 
sleep  of  death,  and  reorganize  the  curious  and  beautiful 
structure  in  which  intelligence  and  consciousness  reside, 
on  purpose  to  inflict  upon  them  everlasting  misery,  or  very 
protracted  suffering,  which  will  terminate  in  'destruction  ? 
What  a  work  does  this  doctrine  assign  to  the  beneficent 
Creator  !  Flow  inconsistent  with  every  perfection  of  his 
nature  !  Hoyt  different  this  his  second  from  his  first 
creation  ! 

From  everything  which  we  see  and  feel,  it  is  evident 
that  he  intended  to  communicate  happiness  by  bestowing 
the  gift  of  life.  Is  it  then  possible  to  imagine  that  he  will 


218 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


raise  his  creatures  from  the  dead  with  no  other  view  than 
to  counteract  his  own  design- — that  he  will  exert  his  omni¬ 
potence  on  purpose  to  frustrate  the  counsels  of  his  benevo¬ 
lence  ? 

This  hypothesis  involves  the  absurdity  which  has  been 
often  pointed  out  in  the  preceding  pages.  It  supposes 
that  the  Deity  restores  millions  of  creatures  to  life  for  no 
other  purpose  than  that  of  rendering  them  miserable,  which 
is  an  act  of  cruelty  of  wdiich  we  can  form  no  adequate 
conception. 

A  resurrection  to  a  state  of  pure,  unmixed  suffering 
(which  is  the  common  notion  of  a  state  of  punishment), 
which  lasts  for  a  very  protracted  period,  and  terminates  in 
destruction,  must  render  the  existence  of  these  unhappy 
persons,  upon  the  whole,  a  curse.  If  the  Creator  saw  that 
any  combination  of  circumstances  would  be  attended  with 
this  consequence,  he  would  either  have  prevented  the  oc¬ 
currence  of  such  a  train  of  events,  or  have  withheld  the 
fiat  which  was  about  to  call  the  sufferers  into  life.  It  has 
been  proved,  that  every  benevolent  being  would  certainly 
do  the  one  or  the  other.  Either,  therefore,  there  must  be, 
even  in  the  state  of  punishment,  a  greater  prevalence  of 
happiness  than  misery,  which  is  contrary  to  the  general 
idea  of  that  state,  or,  if  this  be  not  the  case,  since  it  must 
render  the  existence  of  millions  of  creatures  infinitely 
worse,  upon  the  whole,  than  non-existence,  it  is  irrecon¬ 
cilable  with  the  divine  benignitv. 

CJ  c /  _ 

If,  however,  any  advocate  of  the  doctrine  of  destruction 
should  affirm  that  he  does  not  adopt  this  opinion  of  the 
state  of  punishment,  but  believes  that  at  the  winding  up 
of  the  great  drama  of  life,  every  intelligent  being  will  have 
reason  to  bless  his  Creator  for  his  existence,  it  is  cheerfully 
admitted,  that  this  argument  does  not  apply  against  his 
hypothesis ;  but  surely,  while  his  heart  glows  with  pleasure 
at  the  generous  conclusion  he  adopts,  he  cannot  but  wish 
that  his  satisfaction  could  be  perfected  by  the  sight  of 
pure,  happy,  and  ever-improving  intelligences,  in  the  room 
of  that  awful  and  eternal  blank  which  must  press  upon 
his  view,  and  close  the  scene  !  * 

*  It  affords  me  great  satisfaction  to  perceive  that  this  argument  in  favour  of 
the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration,  founded  on  the  resurrection  cf  the  wickejl, 
which  I  think  extremely  important,  and  even  decisive  of  the  controversy,  im- 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  DESTRUCTION.  219 


Sucli  are  the  arguments  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of 
Limited  Punishment,  terminated  by  Destruction  ;  and  such 

pressed  with  equal  force  the  mind  of  my  much-respected  friend,  the  late  Dr 
Estlin,  of  Bristol.  I  cannot  reflect  without  pleasure  on  the  conversations  I  en¬ 
joyed  with  him  on  this  subject,  at  an  early  period  of  my  life,  and  to  which  I 
owe,  probably,  much  of  that-  interest  and  zeal  with  which  I  have  since  pursued 
the  inquiry.  Intelligent,  amiable,  benevolent — admiring  and  loving  the  worthy 
and  the  wise,  pitying,  with  Charity’s  own  tenderness,  the  vicious — cheerful  and 
diffusing  cheerfulness,  he  lived — he  died — the  Christian  Philosopher.  Part 
of  the  passage  in  his  Discourses  on  Universal  Restitution,  which  has  led  me  to 
the  mention  of  his  name,  (and  who  that  knew  him  can  refer  to  his  name  without 
paying  it  a  tribute  cf  respect  r)  I  must  allow  myself  the  pleasure  of  quoting. 

“  It  is  proper  to  mention  two  doctrines,  which,  if-  they  had  been  sufficiently 
adverted  to,  one  would  suppose  the  idea  (of  the  Anal  destruction  of  the  wicked) 
could  never  have  entered  the  human  mind.”  .  .  .  .  “  The  first  is,  that  the 

wicked,  without  doubt,  constitute  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  human  race. 
This  truth,  which,  although  it  is  reconcilable  to  infinite  benevolence,  yet  to  a 
heart  which  is  susceptible  of  the  finest  human  affections,  is,  after  all,  a  most 
painful  consideration,  cannot  be  evaded.  The  voice  of  infallibility  hath  spoken 
it ;  the  elevated  standard  of  Christian  morality,  compared  with  the  general  moral 
state  of  mankind,  confirms  it ;  every  analogy  of  nature  points  out  to  it.  4  Enter 
ye  in  at  the  strait  gate  .;  for  wide  is  the  gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth 
to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  that  go  in  thereat ;  because  strait  is  the  gate, 
and  narrow  is  the  way  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it.’ 

u  The  next  doctrine,  which  must  not  be  forgotten  (I  confess  I  found  myself 
inclined  to  give  it  up,  when  I  saw  clearly  that  the  doctrine  of  Annihilation 
could  not  be  maintained  in  consistency  with  it),  is  the  resurrection  of  the 
wicked.  If  the  Scriptures  had  positively  asserted  that  the  wicked  would  not  rise, 
and  that  their  death  would  be  the  final  extinction  of  their  being,  the  mind  must 
have  acquiesced  in  what — reasoning  from  the  infinite  benevolence  of  God,  the 
best  foundation  of  reasoning — it  would  still  have  acknowledged  a  difficulty.  If 
the  Scriptures  had  said  nothing  on  the  subject,  their  resurrection  and  restoration 
to  virtue  and  happiness  might,  I  think,  have  been  inferred  from  the  same  sure 
and  certain  principles.  They  do  not,  however,  leave  any  room  for  doubt  on 
the  subject.  It  is  expressly  said,  4  All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  the 
voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  come  forth  :  they  that  have  done  good  to  the  re¬ 
surrection  of  life,  they  that  have  done  evil  to  the  resurrection  of  condemnation.’ 
Every  account  which  is  given  in  Scripture  of  the  day  of  judgment  confirms  this. 

“  The  doctrine  of  Annihilation,  then,  supposes  that  bv  far  the  greater  part  of 
mankind  were  created  by  a  benevolent  and  holy  Being,  whose  prescience  foresaw 
how  they  would  act,  to  be  vicious  and  die,  to  be  raised  from  the  dead,  re¬ 
organized  and  re-created,  to  be  miserable ,  and  then  to  undergo  a  public  execu¬ 
tion,  by  which  they  would  be  for  ever  blotted  out  of  this  creation.  Some  of  the 
wisest  and  best  men  that  the  world  ever  produced  have  adopted  this  scheme  of 
the  origin,  progress,  and  end  of  the  divine  dispensation.  I  know  we  are  apt  to 
overlook  the  fate  of  this  immense  multitude ;  and  a  most  baneful  effect  upon  the 
human  mind,  upon  all  the  institutions  of  society,  and  particularly  upon  penal 
jurisprudence,  has  this  over-looking  of  what  others ,  even  the  majority,  suffer. 
My  brethren,  if  the  fact  be  so,  fix  your  minds  upon  it.  You  have  often  regarded 
with  admiration  that  curious  effect  of  the  divine  power,  the  human  body — the 
delicate  structure  of  the  eye  and  the  ear,  the  nerves  and  brain,  the  veins  and 
arteries,  and  the  various  organs  of  sensation,  respiration,  and  motion ;  you  have 
contemplated  with  devout  wonder  the  faculties  of  the  human  mind ;  you  have 
acknowledged  with  grateful  satisfaction,  that  God  is  love — that  every  organ, 
that  every  power  both  of  body  and  mind,  is  an  inlet  to  enjoyment,  and  that  man 


220 


THE  DIYIXE  GOVERNMENT. 


are  the  difficulties  with  which  the  hypothesis  is  encumbered. 
Every  objection  which  is  commonly  urged,  by  intelligent 
persons,  against  the  opinion  that  it  is  the  great  design  of 
the  divine  government  to  bring  all  mankind  to  a  state  of 
perfect  purity  and  happiness,  whether  derived  from  the 
doctrine  of  Endless  Misery,  or  from  that  of  total  and 
eternal  Destruction,  has  now  been  fully  considered.  With 
regard  to  the  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery,  it  has  been  shown 
that  the  terms,  everlasting,  eternal,  for  ever,  for  ever  and 
ever,  &c.,  on  which  it  is  chiefly  founded,  do  not  denote 
duration  without  end,  but  only  alasting  period — that,  even 
if  it  could  be  proved  that  these  expressions,  when  applied 
to  the  subject  of  future  punishment,  must  necessarily  be 
taken  in  the  sense  of  endless,  it  would  by  no  means  war¬ 
rant  the  conclusion,  that  the  wicked  will  be  kept  alive  in 
misery  through  the  ages  of  eternity;  because  it  is  ever¬ 
lasting  punishment,  not  everlasting  torment,  with  which 
the  wicked  are  threatened — that  the  application  of  the 
same  term  to  the  duration  of  the  punishment  of  the  wicked, 
and  the  happiness  of  the  righteous,  by  no  means  proves 
that  both  are  of  equal  continuance;  because  this  word 
denotes  different  degrees  of  duration,  when  applied  to  dif¬ 
ferent  subjects — because  the  nature  of  these  two  subjects 
is  not  only  not  the  same,  but  directly  opposite,  and  because 
many  considerations  prove  that  one  of  these  states  will  be 
truly  everlasting,  but  that  the  other  cannot  be  so — that 
the  argument  derived  from  the  metaphor  of  fire,  and  par¬ 
ticularly  from  the  expression,  unquenchable  fire,  is  totally 
fallacious,  because  this  language  is  used  respecting  fires 
which  have  been  extinguished  for  ages,  and  respecting 
places  which  have  since  flourished,  and  which  are  still  in 
existence — that  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  has 
been  deemed  so  decisive  a  proof  of  this  doctrine,  directly 
confutes  it,  since  it  affords  the  most  satisfactory  evidence, 

was  formed  in  the  image  of  God,  that  he  might  he  the  object  of  his  favour  for  ever. 
Contemplate  the  scene  which  is  now  to  take  place.  What  a  process  is  going  on 
through  nature  !  Myriads  of  those  beings  are  to  be  raised  from  the  dead,  that 
is,  re-organized,  re-formed,  or  re-created  (a  work  to  which  Omnipotence  alone 
is  equal,  for  the  laws  of  nature  are  nothing  hut  the  mode  of  operation  of  the 
God  of  nature),  to  be  miserable  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  according  to  their 
degrees  of  guilt,  and  at  length  to  he  finally  destroyed  by  fire  !  The  mind  cannot 
dwell  on  this  idea!” — Discourses  on  Universal  Restitution ,  delivered  to  the 
Society  of  Protestant  Dissenters  in  Lew  in'  s  Mead ,  Bristol.  By  John  Prior 
Estlin,  LL.D.,  pp.  82—87. 


SCRIPTURE  EVIDENCE  OF  FINAL  RESTORATION.  221 

that  expressions  of  this  kind  do  not  and  cannot  denote 
duration  without  end,  and  since  the  punishment  annexed 
to  this  crime  may  be  inflicted  to  the  very  letter  without 
its  being1  endless — that  those  minor  arguments,  which  are 
deduced  from  some  expressions  and  parables  of  Scripture, 
are  insufficient  to  establish  the  doctrine,  while  some  of 
them  afford  powerful  arguments  against  it,  and  that  the 
same  is  true  of  the  reasonings  by  which  many  persons  have 
endeavoured  to  support  it. 

With  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  Limited  Punishment, 
terminated  by  Destruction,  it  has  been  shown  that  it  is 
founded  solely  on  terms  to  which  an  unscriptural  meaning* 
is  affixed — that,  while  it  professes  to  be  established  on  the 
plain  and  positive  declarations  of  Scripture,  it  is  counte¬ 
nanced  chiefly  by  a  phrase  which  occurs  only  in  the  most 
highly  figurative  book  of  the  New  Testament,  and  amid 
expressions  entirely  metaphorical — that  this  very,  phrase 
affords  it  no  other  support  than  what  can  be  derived  from 
an  inference  which  is  so  extremely  equivocal,  that  the  op¬ 
posite  conclusion  may  be  deduced  with  equal  plausibility, 
and  that,  while  there  is  not  a  single  passage  in  which  the 
doctrine  is  expressed  in  clear  and  precise  terms,  there  are 
many  with  which  it  is  utterly  incompatible. 

All  the  objections  which  are  commonly  urged  against 
the  cheering  and  benevolent  doctrine,  that  the  whole 
human  race  will  be  ultimately  restored  to  purity  and  hap¬ 
piness,  having  been  thus  fully  considered,  the  mind  may 
now  be  prepared  to  enter  on  an  examination  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tural  evidence  which  appears  to  favour  it. 


PAET  FOURTH. 

OF  THE  SCRIPTURAL  EVIDENCE  IN  FAVOUR  OF  THE  DOCTRINE 
OF  THE  FINAL  RESTORATION  OF  ALL  MANKIND  TO  PURITY  AND 
HAPPINESS. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  term  Universal  Restoration  no¬ 
where  occurs  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament.  It  has  been 
adopted  in  this  work  merely  for  the  sake  of  brevity  and 
precision.  The  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  is,  that  God  is 


222 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


the  Ruler  of  the  world— -that  every  event  is  under  his 
direction,  and  promotes  in  its  appointed  measure  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  his  wise  and  benevolent  administration — that  the 
natural  and  moral  evil  which  prevail  are  the  instruments 
which  his  wisdom  has  chosen,  no  less  than  the  more  obvious 
blessings  of  existence,  to  promote  the  highest  advantage 
of  his  intelligent  creatures — that,  by  his  almighty  and  all- 
perfect  superintendence  of  events,  he  will  secure  this  result 
— that  he  has  placed  mankind  in  a  state  of  discipline,  in 
order  to  form  and  to  try  their  characters — that  those  who 
improve  their  present  advantages,  will  be  rewarded  after 
death  with  endless  felicity — that  those  who  neglect  and 
abuse  them,  and  incapacitate  themselves  for  pure  enjoyment, 
will  be  placed  under  a  painful  and  lasting  discipline,  which 
will  correct  their  evil  dispositions  and  vicious  habits,  and 
form  in  their  minds  a  genuine  love  of  excellence — that,  in 
order  to  accomplish  these  benevolent  purposes,  he  has 
raised  up  Jesus  Christ,  whom  he  has  specially  and  miracu¬ 
lously  qualified  to  execute  the  most  important  of  them, 
having  with  this  view  revealed  to  him  the  glorious  Gospel, 
and  commissioned  him  to  declare  it  to  the  world — that,  in 
reward  of  the  firmness  and  fidelity  with  which  he  executed 
this  most  momentous  trust,  notwithstanding’  the  danger 
and  suffering  to  which  it  exposed  him,  God  has  highly  ex¬ 
alted  him,  and  made  him  the  medium  through  which  he 
communicates  the  greatest  blessings  to  mankind.  That, 
as  Jesus  revealed  the  Gospel,  so  he  will  fulfil  its  promises 
and  execute  its  threatenin°’s — that  as  he  was  the  Instructor 

O 

of  mankind,  so  he  will  be  their  Judge — that  to  him  is  com¬ 
mitted  the  direction  of  the  state  of  discipline  to  which  the 
wicked  will  be  consigned — that,  as  the  execution  of  the  pur¬ 
poses  which  are  comprehended  in  this  vast  and  benevolent 
plan,  supposes  the  government  of  innumerable  intelligent 
beings,  and  the  superintendence  of  many  great  and  im¬ 
portant  events,  it  is  termed  a  kingdom,  of  which  he  is  said 
to  be  the  Head — that  he  will  conduct  the  government  of 
this  kingdom  with  perfect  wisdom,  until  it  shall  have 
accomplished  all  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  appointed ; 
until  it  shall  have  extirpated  sin,  destroyed  the  conse¬ 
quence  of  it,  death,  restored  universal  purity,  and  produced 
universal  happiness — -that  then,  being  no  longer  necessary, 
he  will  resign  his  office,  restore  to  him  from  whom  he  re- 


FINAL  RESTORATION  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  SCRIPTURE.  223 


ceived  it  the  power  with,  which  he  was  invested,  in  order 
that  the  great  Sovereign  of  earth  and  heaven,  the  Foun¬ 
tain  of  all  being  and  happiness,  may  himself  “  be  all  in 
all.” 

Such  is  the  glorious  consummation  of  the  Divine  dis¬ 
pensations,  which  the  Scriptures  teach  us  to  expect  !  Such 
are  the  sublime  and  cheering*  truths,  the  evidence  of  which 
is  now  to  be  detailed  ! 

The  principle  on  which  the  following  investigation  of 
Scripture  is  conducted,  and  on  which  it  is  concluded  that 
the  passages  which  will  be  cited  express  or  imply  these 
truths,  is  that  which  is  adopted  in  the  most  exact  inquiries 
to  which  the  human  understanding  is  directed.  In  every 
philosophical  inquiry,  it  is  admitted  that  that  hypothesis 
ought  to  be  adopted,  which  accounts  for  all  the  phenomena 
with  the  greatest  clearness,  and  which  is  attended  with 
the  fewest  difficulties.  Whatever  theory  best  explains 
acknowledged  facts,  is  universally  considered  most  entitled 
to  regard ;  and  if  it  solve  the  several  phenomena  easily  and 
simply,  while  every  other  hypothesis  is  attended  with  con¬ 
tradictions  and  absurdities,  no  doubt  is  entertained  of  its 
truth.  Now  the  doctrine  that  all  mankind  will  ultimately 
be  restored  to  purity  and  happiness,  is  this  perfect  theory, 
with  regard  to  the  Divine  dispensations  and  the  Scriptural 
terms  by  which  their  nature  is  expressed.  It  accords  with 
every  expression  that  is  used  in  Scripture  concerning  the 
state  of  mankind  in  the  world  to  come,  and  it  is  confirmed 
by  all  our  best  sentiments  of  the  attributes,  the  providence, 
and  the  government,  of  the  Supreme  Being.  But  the 
notions  of  Endless  Misery,  and  of  the  total  and  eternal  ex¬ 
tinction  of  intelligence  and  life,  neither  accord  with  all  the 
expressions  of  Scripture  relative  to  a  future  state,  nor 
with  our  purest  and  most  exalted  sentiments  of  the  attri¬ 
butes  and  proceedings  of  the  Universal  Parent.  According 
to  the  strictest  rules  of  philosophising,  therefore,  the  first 
must  be  regarded  as  the  true  hypothesis. 

The  passages  of  Scripture  which  favour  the  opinion  that 
the  whole  human  race  will  finally  be  restored  to  purity 
and  happiness,  may  be  divided  into  those  which  imply  its 
truth,  and  into  those  which  appear  precisely  and  positively 
to  affirm  it. 

The  passages  which  imply  it,  are  those  which  contain 


224 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


certain  declarations  which  must  be  false,  if  this  opinion  be 
denied,  but  which  are  full  of  truth  and  beauty,  if  it  be  ad¬ 
mitted  :  the  passages  which  appear  positively  to  affirm  it, 
are  those  to  the  language  of  which  it  seems  impossible  to 
affix  any  other  meaning. 


PART  IV.— CHAPTER  I. 


OF  THE  PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE  WHICH  IMPLY  THAT  ALL 
MANKIND  WILL  BE  ULTIMATELY  RESTORED  TO  PURITY  AND 
HAPPINESS. 


Under  the  passages  which  imply  the  ultimate  restoration 
of  the  whole  human  race  to  virtue  and  happiness  may  be 
arranged, 

1.  All  those  which  speak  of  God  as  the  kind  and  be¬ 
nevolent  Father  of  mankind. 

Psalm  ciii.  13, 14  :  “  Like  as  a  father  pitiethhis  children, 
so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him ;  for  he  knoweth 
our  frame,  he  remembereth  that  we  are  dust.”  Mai.  ii. 
10  :  “Have  we  not  all  one  Father  ?  Hath  not  one  God 
created  us  ?  ”  Ephes.  iv.  6  :  “  There  is  one  God  and 

Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  all.” 
We  are  likewise  instructed  by  our  Lord,  Matt.  vi.  9,  to 
address  the  Supreme  Being  in  prayer  as  our  Father. 

The  Scriptures  delight  to  exhibit  theDeitvto  his  human 
offspring  in  the  character  of  a  father.  It  is  the  most 
natural  as  well  as  the  most ’endearing  manner  in  which  we 


can  conceive  of  him.  He  is  our  Father  in  a  much  more 
strict  and  intimate  sense  than  any  creature  is  the  parent 
of  another.  He  constructed  the  curious  and  delicate  fa¬ 
bric  in  which  our  consciousness  and  intelligence  reside. 


He  formed  those  wonderful  organs  which  are  continually 
at  work  within  us,  and  which  minister  equally  to  life  and 
to  enjoyment.  He  endowed  us  with  those  noble  faculties 
by  which  we  are  capable  of  pursuits  and  pleasures  of  the 
same  nature  with  those  that  constitute  his  own  happiness, 
the  operation  of  which  affords  us  continual  gratification, 
but  of  which  we  know  nothing’  except  that  they  are  won¬ 
derful  and  glorious.  It  is  he  who  has  so  exquisitely 


PATERNAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  DEITY. 


225 


adapted  our  nature  to  tlie  objects  which,  surround  us,  that 
we  can  scarcely  move  without  experiencing  pleasure,  and 
that  so  many  things  which  interest  and  delight  us,  con- 
tinually  crowd  upon  our  senses.  It  is  he  who  has  made  us 
what  we  are,  and  his  constant  energy  is  necessary  to 
continue  us  in  existence  :  in  the  strictest  sense  it  is  true, 
that  “  in  him  we  live,  move,  and  have  our  being  A 

And  as  he  is  so  much  more  intimately  and  truly  our 
Father  than  our  human  parents,  so  he  must  be  as  much 
more  perfectly  so  in  respect  to  the  disposition  with  which 
he  regards,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  treats  us.  All 
that  is  tender  and  endearing  in  the  most  affectionate  and 
excellent  of  human  parents  can  afford  us  but  a  faint 
image  of  wliat  he  is  to  his  whole  family  of  mankind. 

Does  any  good  father  punish  with  revenge  ?  Does  any 
tender  mother  harbour  implacable  resentment  against  her 
child  ?  Would  she,  if  she  were  able,  punish  it  with  end¬ 
less  misery,  or  inflict  upon  it  intolerable  anguish  for  a  very 
protracted  period,  and  then  blot  it  out  of  existence  ? 

If  a  human  parent  who  acted  in  such  a  manner  would  be 
regarded  with  universal  execration,  who  can  believe  an  hy¬ 
pothesis  which  attributes  such  conduct  to  the  benevolent 
Father  of  men  ?  We  may  be  mistaken  in  the  meaning 
of  a  word  or  the  accuracy  of  a  criticism,  but  we  cannot  err 
in  rejecting  opinions  which  give  such  an  exhibition  of 
the  character  of  God.  But  in  this  manner,  both  the  doc¬ 
trines  of  Endless  Misery,  and  of  absolute,  irrevocable 
Destruction,  represent  our  heavenly  Father  as  treating  the 
greater  number  of  his  children;  while  that  of  Universal 
Restoration  teaches  that  his  conduct  towards  every  indi- 

t J 

vidual  of  his  large  family  is  infinitely  more  excellent  than 
that  of  the  most  wise  and  benevolent  parent.  The  latter 
opinion,  therefore,  is  true  ;  the  others  are  false. 

2.  The  ultimate  Restoration  of  the  whole  human  race  to 
purity  and  happiness  is  favoured  by  all  those  passages 
which  represent  God  as  good. 

Ps.  xxxiv.  8  :  “  0  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good.” 
Ps.  lii.  1  :  “The  goodness  of  God  endureth  continually” 
Psalm  cxlv.  9  :  “The  Lord  is  good  to  all,  and  his  tender 
mercies  are  over  all  his  works.”  1  John  iv.  8  :  “God  is 

LOVE  A 

If  there  be  any  foundation  for  the  doctrine  of  Endless 

lo 


226 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


Misery,  or  of  absolute,  irrevocable  Destruction,  these  pas¬ 
sages  are  not  true.  The  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery 
teaches,  that  God  created  the  great  majority  of  mankind 
to  make  them  miserable  ;  that  he  called  them  into  being 
with  no  other  view  than  to  glorify  his  justice  by  their 
eternal  condemnation,  and  that,  from  all  eternity,  he  fore¬ 
ordained  them  to  this  horrid  fate.  To  say  of  such  a  Being 
that  he  is  good,  that  his  very  nature  is  love,  that  his 
tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works,  and  that  his  good¬ 
ness  endureth  continually,  is  to  destroy  all  distinction  be¬ 
tween  tenderness  and  cruelty,  and  to  identify  malevolence 
with  benignity. 

If  it  be  said  that  he  treats  the  elect  with  benevolence, 
and  that  these  expressions  relate  only  to  these  favoured 
individuals,  it  is  replied,  that  this  is  an  assumption  which 
is  unsupported  by  the  shadow  of  proof;  for  these  passages 
do  not  affirm  that  he  is  good  to  the  elect,  but  that  he  is 
good  to  all ,  and  that  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his 
works. 

If  he  elected  a  few  individuals  to  happiness,  and  decreed 
the  great  majority  to  Endless  Misery,  how  can  there  be 
any  truth  in  the  declaration,  that  he  is  good  to  all  ?  And 
if  the  greater  number  are  to  be  doomed  to  torment,  day 
and  night,  without  intermission,  for  ever ;  if,  in  the 
anguish  of  their  souls,  they  incessantly  cry  to  him  for 
mercy,  beseeching  him  to  lighten  or  shorten  their  suffer¬ 
ing  ;  and  if  he  behold  their  misery  without  pity,  and'  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  their  supplications,  how  can  his  tender 
mercies  be  over  all  his  works,  or  his  goodness  endure  con¬ 
tinually  ? 

Nor  is  the  doctrine  of  Destruction  consistent  with  these 
passages ;  for  according  to  this  opinion  the  wicked  will  be 
raised  from  the  dead,  afflicted  with  terrible  and  unremitted 
anguish,  for  a  very  protracted  period,  and  then  blotted  out 
of  existence  for  ever ;  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  they  must 
be  incalculably  more  miserable  than  happy.  Even  if  the 
contrary  should  be  maintained,  and  it  should  be  said  that 
they  will  enjoy  more  than  they  suffer,  still,  according  even 
to  this  concession,  these  passages  can  be  true  only  in  the 
lowest  sense. 

But  if  the  Deity  design  and  pursue  the  ultimate  felicity 
of  all  his  intelligent  creation,  what  a  light  and  glory  do 


MERCIFUL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  DEITY. 


227 


they  shecl  on  his  character,  and  how  perfectly  do  they  ac¬ 
cord  with  the  noblest  ideas  we  can  form  of  the  object  of 
his  dispensations  ! 

8.  The  final  Restoration  of  all  mankind  to  purity  and 
happiness  is  favoured  by  those  passages  which  speak  of 
God  as  merciful. 

Exod.  xxxiv.  6,  7  :  “  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful 
and  gracious,  long -suffering  and  abundant  in  goodness 

o  J  t  o  o  o 

and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  and  forgiving  ini¬ 
quity,  transgression,  and  sin.”  2  Chron.  xxx.  9  :  “  The 
Lord  your  God  is  gracious  and  merciful,  and  will  not  turn 
away  his  face  from  you  if  you  return  unto  him.”  Psalm 
ciii.  8  :  e<  The  Lord  is  merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger, 
and  plenteous  in  mercy.” 

These  repeated  declarations  of  the  compassion  and 
clemency  of  God  cannot  be  true,  if  through  the  ages  of 
eternity  he  refuses  to  be  reconciled  to  the  great  majority 
of  his  creatures.  It  is  vain  to  endeavour  to  prove  that  he 
is  merciful,  on  the  ground  that  he  is  willing  to  forgive  the 
penitent  sinner  in  the  present  state ;  for  not  to  mention 
that,  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the  common  doctrine  of  the 
Divine  decrees  and  of  election,  the  pretension  is  an  idle 
mockery ;  were  his  clemency  restricted  to  this  life,  he 
would  have  infinitely  less  claim  to  the  character  of  mer- 
ciful,  than  that  man  would  possess  who  should  inflict  the 
most  intolerable  suffering  on  another  for  the  space  of 
eighty  years,  without  showing  any  disposition  to  relent 
except  for  a  single  hour.  There  is,  indeed,  an  utter  dis¬ 
proportion  between  the  two  cases,  because  this  life  com¬ 
pared  to  eternity  is  inconceivably  less  than  an  hour 
compared  to  eighty  years. 

They  who  contend  that  the  mercy  of  God  is  restricted 
to  the  present  life,  ought  to  remember  that  they  have  no 
Scriptural  authority  for  this  opinion.  Such  a  notion  is 
never  inculcated  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament.  There 
is  not  a  single  passage  from  which  it  can  be  fairly  deduced. 
Those  which  might  seem  to  favour  it  have  been  fully  con¬ 
sidered.  The  declarations  of  Scripture  are  not — The 
Lord  is  merciful  and  gracious,  but  his  clemency  is  limited 
to  the  present  state  :  he  is  slow  to  anger  and  plenteous 
in  mercy,  but  he  becomes  implacable  and  inexorable  the 
moment  this  life  terminates  :  its  language  is — “  The  Lord 

15  * 


228 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


is  merciful  and  gracious ;  slow  to  anger  and  plenteous  in 
mercy  :  lie  hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor 
rewarded  us  according  to  our  iniquities ;  for  as  the  heaven 
is  high  above  the  earth,  so  great  is  his  mercy  towards  them 
that  fear  him ;  as  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  so  far 
hath  he  removed  our  transgressions  from  us.  Like  as  a 
father  pitieth  his  children,  so  hath  the  Lord  compassion  on 
them  that  fear  him :  for  he  knoweth  our  frame  :  he  re- 
membereth  that  we  are  dust.” 

If  he  place  his  offending  offspring  under  a  discipline 
which  corrects  their  evil  dispositions,  and  forms  in  their 
hearts  a  genuine  love  of  excellence,  this  beautiful  and 
affecting  description  of  the  Deity  is  just ;  but  if  he  doom 
them  to  intolerable,  unremitted,  and  unending  anguish,  or 
if,  after  having  made  them  suffer  the  utmost  penalty  of 
their  crimes,  he  blot  them  out  of  existence  for  ever,  every 
syllable  of  it  is  false  ! 

4.  The  ultimate  happiness  of  every  individual  of  the  hu¬ 
man  race  is  favoured  by  all  those  passages  which  positively 
deny  that  God  will  be  angry  for  ever. 

Psalm  xxx.  5  :  “  His  anger  endureth  but  for  a  moment.” 
Psalm  ciii.  9  :  “He  will  not  always  chide,  neither  will  he 
keep  his  anger  for  ever.”  Psalm  lxxvii.  7 — 12  :  “Will 
the  Lord  cast  off  for  ever,  and  will  he  be  favourable  no 
more  ?  Is  his  mercy  clean  gone  for  ever ;  doth  his 
promise  fail  for  evermore  ?  Hath  God  forgotten  to  be  gra¬ 
cious  ;  hath  he  in  anger  shut  up  his  tender  mercies  ?  And 
1  said,  This  is  my  infirmity  :  I  will  remember  the  years  of 
the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High.  I  will  remember  the 
works  of  the  Lord.  I  will  meditate  on  thy  work,  and  talk 
of  thy  doings.”  Isaiah  -lxvii.  16  :  “I  will  not  contend  for 
ever,  neither  will  I  be  always  wroth  :  for  the  spirit  should 
fail  before  me,  and  the  souls  which  I  have  made.” 

How  different  is  this  description  of  the  disposition  and 
conduct  of  the  Deity  from  that  which  is  exhibited  by  the 
doctrines  of  Endless  Misery,  and  of  total  and  eternal  De¬ 
struction  !  They  affirm  that  his  anger  will  flame  with 
relentless  fury  through  all  eternity ;  the  Scriptures  declare 
that  his  anger  endureth  but  for  a  moment  :  they  affirm 
that  the  punishment  which  he  will  inflict  will  never 
terminate  ;  the  Scriptures  declare  that  he  will  not  always 
chide,  neither  will  he  keep  his  anger  for  ever  :  they  affirm 


DESIRE  OF  GOD  THAT  THE  WICKED  SHOULD  REPEXT.  229 


that  he  will  hereafter  have  no  mercv  on  the  wicked,  but 
cast  them  from  him  for  ever ;  the  Scriptures  make  the 
most  solemn  and  touching  appeal  to  our  own  understand¬ 
ing  and  heart  whether  this  can  be  true  :  “  Will  the  Lord 

cast  off  for  ever ;  and  will  he  be  favourable  no  more  ?  Is 
his  mercy  clean  gone  for  ever  ?  Doth  his  promise  fail  for 
evermore  ?  Hath  God  forgotten  to  be  gracious  ?  Hath 
he  in  anger  shut  up  his  tender  mercies  ?  And  I  said,  this 
is  my  infirmity  !  ” 

These  words  ought  to  be  engraven  on  the  heart.  To 
say  that  they  relate  solely  to  offenders  in  the  present  life, 
is  to  take  for  granted  the  point  in  dispute,  and  to  affirm 
what  cannot  be  proved.  Is  not  this  language  as  applica¬ 
ble  to  future  as  it  is  to  present  punishment;  to  the 
chastisement  of  the  wicked,  as  to  the  correction  of  him 
who  has  fallen  from  rectitude  ?  With  regard  to  the  former, 
does  it  not  equally  put  to  us  the  affecting  questions, 
“  Will  he  be  favourable  no  more  ?  Is  his  mercy  clean  gone 
for.  ever  ?  Doth  his  promise  fail  for  evermore  ?  33  No  :  it 
is  impossible.  Whoever  shall  attempt  to  persuade  me 
that  there  can  come  a  period  when  he  will  eternally  shut 
up  in  anger  his  tender  mercies,  I  will  repeat  to  him  this 
passage,— I  will  say,  “  It  is  your  infirmity  ! 33 

5.  The  final  Restoration  of  all  mankind  to  purity  and 
happiness  is  favoured  by  those  passages  which  represent 
God  as  declaring,  that  he  takes  no  pleasure  in  the  punish¬ 
ment  of  the  wicked. 

Ezek.  xviii.  23  :  “  Have  I  any  pleasure  at  all  that  the 
wicked  should  die,  saith  the  Lord  God,  and  not  that  he 
should  return  from  his  ways  and  live  ? 33  Cli.  xxxiii.  11  : 

V 

“As  1  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the 
death  of  the  wicked,  but  that  the  wicked  should  turn  from 
his  ways  and  live/'’  2  Peter  iii.  9  :  “  The  Lord  is  long- 
suffering  towards  us,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish, 
but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance.” 

The  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery  teaches,  that,  from  all 
eternity,  God,  for  the  praise  of  his  glorious  justice,  decreed 
the  great  majority  of  his  creatures  to  irremediable  and 
eternal  death ;  yet  the  Scriptures  represent  him  as  contra¬ 
dicting  this  in  the  most  express  terms,  and  in  the  most 
solemn  manner  :  As  I  live ,  saith  the  Lord ,  I  have  no  pleasure 


230 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


in  the  death  of  the  wicked ,  but  that  the  wicked  should  turn 
from  his  trays  and  live .  • 

Rev.  iv.  11  :  “  Thou  art  worthy ,  0  Lord,  to  receive  glory 
and  honour  and  power,  for  thou  hast  created  all  things,  and 
by  thy  will,  or  for  thy  pleasure,  they  are  and  were  created.” 

What  cause  can  there  be  for  an  ascription  of  praise  to 
their  Creator,  on  the  part  of  the  greater  number  of  his 
creatures,  if,  millions  of  ages  before  their  existence,  he 
doomed  them  to  intolerable  and  endless  misery  ?  Could 
any  one  who  believed  such  a  doctrine  speak  in  this  raptur¬ 
ous  manner  of  the  work  of  creation  ?  But  what  a  de¬ 
lightful  meaning  is  there  in  this  language,  and  what 
abundant  cause  is  there  for  praise,  if  all  intelligent  beings 
are  ultimately  to  be  restored  to  purity  and  happiness  ! 
Then,  indeed,  may  it  be  said  of  the  Author  of  this  glorious 
scheme — “  Thou  art  worthy  to  receive  glory  and  honour 
and  power  !  ” 

6.  The  final  Restoration  of  all  mankind  to  purity  and 
happiness,  is  favoured  by  those  passages  which  represent 
the  Deity  as  chastising  his  children  with  the  disposition  of 
a  parent,  and  by  those  which  affirm  or  imply  that  future 
punishment  will  be  corrective. 

Dent.  viii.  5  :  “  Thou  shalt  also  consider  in  thine  heart, 
that  as  a  man  chasteneth  his  son,  so  the  Lord  thy  God 
chasteneth  thee.”  Job  v.  17  :  “  Happy  is  the  man  whom 
God  correcteth  ;  therefore,  despise  not  thou  the  chastening 
of  the  Almighty.”  Psalm  xciv.  12  :  “Blessed,  0  Lord,  is 
the  man  whom  thou  chastenest.”  Lleb.  xii.  5 — 11  :  “My 
son,  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint 
when  thou  art  rebuked  of  him  ;  for  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth. 
If  ye  endure  chastening,  God  dealeth  with  you  as  with 
sons  :  for  what  son  is  he  whom  the  father  chasteneth  not? 
But  if  ye  be  without  chastisement,  whereof  all  are  par¬ 
takers,  then  are  ye  bastards,  and  not  sons.  Furthermore, 
we  have  had  fathers  of  our  flesh  who  corrected  us,  and  we 
gave  them  reverence  :  shall  we  not  rather  be  in  subjection 
to  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  live  ?  For  they  verily,  for  a 
few  days,  chastened  us  after  their  own  pleasure;  but  he 
for  our  profit,  that  we  might  be  partakers  of  his  holiness. 
How,  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous, 


CORRECTIVE  NATURE  OF  PUNISHMENT. 


231 


but  grievous ;  nevertheless,  afterward  it  yieldeth  the 
peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  exer¬ 
cised  thereby.-” 

V 

These  passages  declare  in  the  strongest  and  plainest 
language,  that  God  chastens  his  creatures  in  the  same 
manner  as  a  wise  and  benevolent  parent  corrects  his  child. 
Those  who  maintain  that  this  is  true  only  of  the  virtuous, 
or  that  lie  treats  the  wicked  in  this  manner  in  the  present 
life  alone,  must  conceive  that  he  is  the  Father  only  of  a 
part  of  mankind,  or  that  a  period  will  arrive,  when  his 
treatment  of  his  children  will  be  unworthy  of  a  good 
parent. 

And  why  should  either  of  these  suppositions  be  enter¬ 
tained  ?  Vve  are  too  apt  to  exclude  the  vicious  from  our 
benevolent  regard,  and  to  consider  and  treat  them  as  utterly 
worthless.  This  pernicious  feeling  is  even  transferred  to 
the  great  Parent  of  the  human  race.  But  the  vicious  can 
never  become  utterly  worthless,  because  they  always  retain 
their  moral  capacity  and  their  sentient  nature.  So  long 
as  they  are  capable  of  knowledge  and  virtue,  they  are  fit 
objects  of  moral  discipline ;  so  long  as  they  retain  the  ^ 
power  of  feeling,  and  can  suffer  pain  or  enjoy  happiness, 
they  are  proper  objects  of  benevolence.  A  false  system  of 
philosophy,  a  selfish  and  exclusive  system  of  theology, 
may  make  us  forgetful  of  these  unalterable  and  imperish- 
able  claims  upon  our  best  affections,  which  all  of  human 
kind  possess ;  but  He  cannot  overlook  them  who  is  the 
Creator  of  all,  and  who  cares  alike  for  every  individual  of 
his  large  family.  It  is  the  faculty  of  reason  that  renders  a 
creature  a  proper  object  of  moral  discipline ;  it  is  the  ca¬ 
pacity  of  suffering  and  of  enjoying  that  renders  him  a 
proper  object  of  benevolence ;  and  these  even  vice  itself 
cannot  destroy.  However,  therefore,  the  condition  of  the 
wicked  may  be  changed  in  the  future  state,  it  cannot  be 
changed  to  this  extent :  to  the  extent,  that  is,  of  render¬ 
ing  them  no  longer  the  objects  of  moral  discipline,  which 
must  be  the  case  if  their  punishment  be  not  corrective  : 
or  to  the  extent  of  excluding  them  from  the  care  of  be- 
nevolence,  since  they  must  retain  their  sentient  nature. 
To  suppose,  therefore,  that  a  period  can  ever  come  when 
the  punishment  of  the  erring  creatures  of  humanity  will 
not  be  corrective,  and  when  the  benevolent  Father  of  those 


232 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


creatures  will  cease  to  regard  tliem  witli  a  father's  tender¬ 
ness,  is  both  without  reason  and  contrary  to  reason. 

Matt.  xxv.  46  :  “  These  shall  go  away  into  lasting 
chastisement,  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal." 

The  word  translated  punishment  in  the  Received  Version 
is  koXclctls,  a  term  which  is  universally  allowed  to  signify 
chastisement  or  corrective  punishment.  It  is  used  in  this 
sense  by  the  Heathen  philosophers  :  “  Dicemus  ergo  in 
pcenis  respiciant  utilitatem  ejus  qui  peccavit,  aut  ejus  cujus 
intererat  non  peccatum  esse,  aut  indistincte  quorumlibet. 
Ad  liorum  trium  finum  primum  pertinet  poena  quae  phi- 
losophis  modo  vovOeana,  modo  koA cutis,  modo  napaivecns, 
dicitur.  Paulo  jurisconsulto,  poena  quae  constituitur  in 
emendationem,  crootfipovLcrcoos  eveKa  Platone,  Plutarcho  Larpeta 
\fv\rjs  animi  medicatrix,  quae  hoc  agit  ut  eum  qui  peccavit 
reddat  meliorem  medendi  modo  qui  est  per  contraria."  * 
Grotius  de  Jure  Belli  et  Pacis,  lib.  ii.  cap.  20,  sect.  6. 

Simpson  observes  on  this  word,  “  Our  Lord,  in  the 
awful  and  impressive  description  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
last  judgment  of  mankind,  has  selected  the  term  KoXacns,  in 
no  other  place  in  the  New  Testament  applied  to  the  future 
state,  in  order  to  explain  with  the  gTeater  precision  the 
final  recompense  of  the  sinner.  There  seems  in  Matt.  xxv. 
46,  to  be  an  evident  allusion  to  the  Septuagint  translation 
of  Daniel  xii.  2,  which  was  commonly  used  in  Judea,  when 
our  Lord  appeared.  The  expression  (oopv  clloovlov,  is 
literally  adopted  in  order  to  express  the  recompense  of  the 
righteous.  But  instead  of  aL(ryyvr}v  clloovlov,  the  expression 
KoXacnv  clloovlov  appears  to  have  been  purposely  substituted, 
as  comprehending  that  variety  of  painful  chastisement, 
both  in  kind  and  degree  and  duration,  which  the  highest 
ideas  of  the  perfections  of  the  Supreme  Parent  and  Ruler 
naturally  lead  us  to  suppose  he  will  inflict  upon  his  chil¬ 
dren  and  subjects,  according  to  the  nature  and  magnitude 
of  their  offences.  Even  in  human  governments,  a  wise 

*  We  observe,  then,  that  punishment  regards  the  benefit  either  of  the  of¬ 
fender  or  of  the  offended ;  or,  indeed,  of  any  other  persons.  The  punishment 
which  respects  the  first  of  these  three  purposes,  is  called  by  philosophers  some¬ 
times  vovOncria ,  sometimes  KoXaaig ,  and  sometimes  TrapaiyioiQ.  According  to 
Paulus,  a  lawyer,  the  punishment  designed  for  amendment  is  hy  Plato  said  to  be 
<7uj<ppovu7EU)Q  tviKa,  for  the  sake  of  making  wiser.  And  it  is  called  by  Plutarch 
tarpeia  \pv\i]g^  the  healer  of  the  mind ;  because,  agreeable  to  the  art  of  healing, 
it  renders  him  who  has  sinned  better  by  means  of  contraries. 


CHRIST  DIED  THAT  “  ALL  MAY  BE  MADE  ALIVE.”  233 

and  good  magistrate  would  employ  temporary  corrective 
chastisements  for  the  reformation  of  criminals,  that  they 
might  be  restored  to  usefulness  and  happiness  in  society, 
in  preference  to  capital  punishments,  if  he  could  devise 
proper  ones,  and  secure  success  in  the  use  of  them.  Now, 
with  respect  to  the  Supreme  Lord  and  Parent  of  all,  there 
is  unerring-  wisdom  to  contrive  infallible  means,  boundless 
goodness  to  incline  him  to  employ  them,  and  almighty 
power  to  accomplish  every  end  that  infinite  perfection 
proposes.”  * 

7.  The  final  purity  and  happiness  of  all  mankind  is 
favoured  by  those  passages  which  represent  the  benefits 
resulting  from  the  obedience  and  death  of  Christ,  as  co¬ 
extensive  with  and  even  exceeding  the  evils  produced  by 
the  disobedience  and  fall  of  Adam. 

1  Cor.  xv.  22  :  “As  through  Adam  all  die,  so  likewise 
through  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.”  In  this  passage, 
the  evil  produced  by  sin  is  compared  with  the  benefit  re¬ 
ceived  by  Christ,  and  it  supposes,  that  the  life  imparted  by 
him  is  a  blessing  :  but  if  the  wicked  are  to  be  raised  from 
the  slumber  of  the  tomb,  only  to  be  visited  with  severe  and 
protracted  punishment,  and  then  destroyed,  or  to  be  kept 
in  endless  misery,  the  restoration  of  their  existence, 
instead  of  a  benefit,  is  an  unspeakable  disadvantage. 

Rom.  v.  15  :  “That  as  the  offence,  so  is  the  free  gift  : 
for  if  through  the  offence  of  one,  ol  ttoXXol,  the  many  (that  is, 
the  great  body  of  mankind, — Newcome )  have  died,  much  more 
the  favour  of  God,  and  the  gift  which  is  through  the  favour 
of  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  hath  abounded,  ets-  rovs  ttoXXovs, 
unto  the  many.  If  by  the  offence  of  the  one  death 
reigned  by  this  one,  much  more  those  who  receive  the 
abounding  of  favour,  and  of  the  gift  of  justification,  shall 
reign  in  life  by  the  one  man  Jesus  Christ.  So  then,  as  by 
the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  con¬ 
demnation,  so  likewise  by  the  righteousness  of  one,  the 
free  gift  hath  come  upon  all  men  to  justification  of  life. 
For  as  by  the  disobedience  of  one  man  the  many  were 
made  sinners  (or  treated  as  such,  by  undergoing  death), 
so  likewise  by  the  obedience  of  one  the  many  will  be  made 
righteous  :  that  where  sin  abounded,  the  favour  of  God  has 
much  more  abounded  :  that  as  sin  reigned  unto  death,  so 

*  Essay,  p.  68. 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


favour  likewise  might  reign  by  justification  to  everlasting 
life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.” 

Nothing  can  be  more  evident  than  that  it  is  the  apostle's 
intention,  in  this  passage,  to  represent  all  mankind,  with¬ 
out  exception,  as  deriving  greater  benefit  from  the  death 
of  Christ  than  they  suffer  injury  from  the  fall  of  Adam. 
The  universality  of  the  apostle's  expressions  is  very  re¬ 
markable.  The  same  many  who  were  made  sinners  by  the 
disobedience  of  the  one,  are  made  righteous  by  the 
obedience  of  the  other.  If  all  men  are  condemned  by  the 
offence  of  the  one,  the  same  all  are  justified  by  the  right¬ 
eousness  of  the  other. 

These  universal  terms,  so  frequently  repeated  and  so 
variously  diversified,  cannot  possibly  be  reconciled  to  the 
limitation  of  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  to  the  elect  alone, 
or  to  a  part  only  of  the  human  race.*  Unless  the  wicked 
are  reformed  by  their  punishment,  can  there  be  any  truth 
in  the  declaration,  that  the  favour  of  God  by  Christ  abounds 
much  more  than  sin  and  death  ?  If  the  great  majority  of 
mankind  are  to  continue  in  sin  and  misery  through  all 
eternity,  or  at  some  remote  period  to  be  blotted  out  of 
existence,  it  is  they  that  triumph  :  they  are  infinitely  more 
extensive  than  the  abounding  of  favour.  According  to 
both  of  these  doctrines,  therefore,  the  reasoning  of  the 
apostle  in  this  passage  is  totally  inconclusive. 

The  passages  which  have  been  quoted  appear  decidedly 
to  favour  the  doctrine  of  the  Ultimate  Restoration  of  all 
mankind  to  Purity  and  Happiness,  since  in  every  case  a 
denial  of  this  opinion  is  a  contradiction  to  the  declarations 
they  contain.  There  are  passages,  however,  which  seem 
still  more  expressly  to  confirm  the  truth  of  this  hy¬ 
pothesis. 


PART  IV.— CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE  PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE  WHICH  APPEAR  EXPRESSLY  TO 
AFFIRM,  THAT  ALR  MANKIND  WILL  BE  ULTIMATELY  RESTORED 
TO  PURITY  AND  HAPPINESS. 


In  the  former  editions  of  this  work  some  passages  were 
arranged  under  this  head,  which,  on  further  examination, 

*  See  Improved  Version,  note  in  loc. 


SCEIPTUEE  AFFIEMATIVE  OF  FESTAL  EESTOEATIOX. 


235 


I  am  satisfied  cannot  be  justly  adduced  as  express  affirm¬ 
ations  of  tlie  doctrine  tliat  .  tlie  whole  human  race  will 
finally  be  restored  to  virtue  and  happiness.  I  consider  the 
celebrated  passage  in  Ephesians  i.  8 — Kb,  as  probably, 
though  not  certainly,  asserting  it  :  “  Having  made  known 
to  us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  according  to  his  good  plea-’ 
sure  which  he  purposed  in  himself,  concerning  the  dis¬ 
pensation  of  the  fulness  of  times,  that  he  would  gather 
together  to  himself  in  one  all  things  through  Christ,  which 
are  in  the  heavens  and  which  are  on  the  earth,  even  through 
him.”  At  first  view  this  passage  seems  exceedingly 
favourable  to  the  opinion,  and  appears,  indeed,  expressly 
to  affirm,  that  it  is  the  great  object  of  the  Divine  dispens¬ 
ations  to  unite  together  in  one  holy  and  happy  state  all 
intelligent  beings  under  Jesus  Christ.  But  many  learned 
and  enlightened  men  propose  a  different  interpretation. 
They  suppose  that  this  passage  relates  to  God’s  pre¬ 
determination  to  comprehend  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews  in 
the  blessings  of  the  gospel  dispensation.  “The  interpret¬ 
ation  of  the  ancient  fathers,”  says  Whitby,  “  seems  to 
give  "this  sense,  that  God  hath  by  this  dispensation 
gathered  under  one  head,  viz.,  Christ,  the  head  of  the 
Church,  all  things  on  earth,  that  is,  Jews  and  Gentiles; 
and  all  things  in  heaven,  Christ  being  the  head 'over  prin¬ 
cipalities  and  powers.”  Lockers  paraphrase  of  this  and  of 
the  four  preceding  verses  is  as  follows  :  “  Having  pre¬ 
determined  to  take  us  Gentiles,  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  his 
sons  and  people,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
will;  to  the  end  that  the  Gentiles  too  might  praise  him 
for  his  grace  and  mercy  to  them  and  all  mankind,  magnify¬ 
ing  his  glory  for  his  abundant  goodness  to  them,  by 
receiving  them  freely  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  to 
be  his  people  again,  in  a  state  of  peace  with  him,  barely 
for  the  sake  of  him  that  is  his  beloved  :  in  whom  we  have 
redemption  by  his  blood,  viz.,  the  forgiveness  of  trans¬ 
gressions,  according  to  the  greatness  of  his  grace  and 
favour,  which  he  has  overflowed  in  towards  us,  in  bestow¬ 
ing  on  us  so  full  a  knowledge  and  comprehension  of  the 
extent  and  design  of  the  gospel,  and  prudence  to  comply 
with  it,  as  it  becomes  you  :  in  that  he  hath  made  known  to 
you  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will  and  purpose,  which  was 
a  mystery  that  he  hath  purposed  in  himself,  until  the 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


Zoo 


coming  of  the  due  time  of  that  dispensation  wherein  he  hath 
predetermined  to  reduce  all  things  again,  both  in  heaven 
and  on  earth,  under  one  head  in  Christ/'’  By  the  phrase, 
“  things  in  heaven  and  things  on  earth,”  he  understands  the 
Jewish  and  Gentile  world ;  observing,  “  That  St  Paul  should 
use  heaven  and  earth  for  Jews  and  Gentiles,  will  not  be 
thought  so  very  strange,  if  we  consider  that  Daniel  himself 
expresses  the  nation  of  the  Jews  by  the  name  of  heaven 
(Dan.  viii.  10).  Nor  does  he  want  an  example  of  it  in  our 
Saviour  himself,  who  (Luke  xxi.  26),  by  f  powers  of 
heaven/  plainly  signifies  the  great  men  of  the  Jewish 
nation  :  nor  is  this  the  only  place,  in  this  Epistle  of  St  Paul 
to  the  Ephesians,  which  will  bear  this  interpretation  of 
heaven  and  earth.  He  who  shall  read  the  first  fifteen  verses 
of  chap,  iii.,  and  carefully  weigh  the  expressions,  and  ob¬ 
serve  the  drift  of  the  apostle  in  them,  will  not  find  that 
he  does  manifest  violence  to  St  Paul’s  sense,  if  he  under¬ 
stands  by  f  the  family  in  heaven  and  earth  ’  (ver.  15),  the 
united  body  of  Christians,  made  up  of  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
living  still  promiscuously  among  those  two  sorts  of  people, 
who  continued  in  their  unbelief-  However,  this  interpret¬ 
ation  I  am  not  positive  in;  but  offer  it  as  a  matter  of 
inquiry  to  such  who  think  an  impartial  search  into  the 
true  meaning  of  the  sacred  Scripture  the  best  employment 
of  all  the  time  they  have.” 

Mr  Belsliam  says,*  “  Perhaps  the  sense  of  this  intricate 
period  may  be  thus  expressed :  which  riches  of  his 
goodness  he  has  abundantly  exhibited  to  us,  having  en¬ 
riched  our  understanding  with  a  clear  knowledge  of  that 
mystery  which  was  the  object  of  his  gracious  and  eternal 
purpose,  and  which  relates  to  that  dispensation  which  has 
now  at  the  fulness  of  time  taken  place  :  namely,  that  he 
would  reunite/  under  one  head,  even  Jesus  Christ,  all 
descriptions  of  mankind,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles.” 

Although,  if  the  above  interpretation  be  just,  this  passage 
cannot  be  considered  as  bearing  that  positive  and  decided 
testimony  to  the  truth  that  all  mankind  will  be  ultimately 

*  See  Belsham  on  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  in  loc. 

t  The  primary  signification  of  the  word  avaKtcpaXauo,  which  the  apostle  here 
uses,  is  to  sum  up  an  account,  or  to  reduce  many  sums  to  one.  Schleusner.  And 
the  phrase  “  all  things,”  signifies  all  persons,  the  neuter  being  put  for  the  mas¬ 
culine,  as  in  John  vi.  39.  Ut  nempe  omnes  creatures  intelligcntes  in  ccclo  et  in 
terra,  per  Christum  in  unam  socieiatem  adducerentur.  Rosenmiiller. 


SCRIPTURE  AFFIRMATIVE  OF  FINAL  RESTORATION.  237 

restored  to  purity  and  happiness,  which  some  learned  men 
have  supposed ;  yet  it  does  not  weaken  that  testimony  so 
much  as  might  at  first  be  apprehended.  For,  even  admit¬ 
ting  that  the  apostle  meant  by  the  phrase,  “  things  in 
heaven  and  things  on.  earth,”  Jews  and  Gentiles,  yet  it 
deserves  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  these  expressions 
include  all  mankind,  since,  in  the  apostle’s  view,  Jews  and 
Gentiles  would  comprehend  the  whole  of  the  human  race, 
there  being  no  descriptions  of  persons  which  would  not  be 
classed  by  him  under  one  or  other  of  these  divisions.  Mr 
Locke’s  own  paraphrase  of  the  6th  verse  is,  “  To  the  end 
that  all  mankind  might  magnify  his  glory  for  his  abundant 
goodness  to  them.”  If  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  include  all 
mankind,  how  far  does  the  interpretation  suggested  by  Mr 
Locke  limit  the  sense  of  the  passage  ?  May  it  not  still  be 
understood  to  declare  not  only  that  under  the  gospel 
dispensation  Jews  and  Gentiles  are  admitted  to  equal 
privileges,  but  also  that  it  is  the  gracious  purpose  of  God 
to  restore  all  mankind  to  a  state  of  perfect  virtue  and  hap¬ 
piness,  and  thus  to  unite  all  under  one  head,  namely,  J esus 
Christ  ?  This  passage  must  be  understood  to  refer  to 
some  future  change,  universal  in  its  extent,  and  happy  in 
its  consequences  ;  for  at  no  period  since  the  advent  of  the 
Messiah  have  these  been  united  together  in  one  under 
him.  All  do  not,  and  never  have  acknowledged  his  mild 
and  benevolent  sway.  Sin  and  misery  still  dispute  and  al¬ 
ways  have  disputed  the  government  of  the  world  with 
him.  But  are  we  not  by  this  passage  encouraged  to 
believe  that,  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fullness  of  times, 
every  disposition  which  opposes  him  shall  be  destroyed, 
and  that,  different  as  men’s  character  and  condition  may 
be  at  present,  they  shall  all  then  become  his  willing  sub¬ 
jects,  and  be  rendered  holy  and  happy  ?  And,  as  Christ 
will  be  the  means  of  effecting  this  glorious  work,  may  not 
all  mankind  in  this  sense  be  said  to  be  gathered  together 
in  one  under  him  ?  If  there  be  no  reason  for  restricting 
this  passage  to  a  more  limited  signification,  does  not  this 
sense  best  accord  with  the  diffusively-benevolent  spirit  of 
the  gospel,  with  the  character  of  God  as  the  kind  Father 
and  wise  Governor  of  mankind,  and  with  many  other 
passages  of  Scripture  ?  However,  in  the  language  of  that 
great  man  and  excellent  Christian,  whose  words  on  a 


238 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


similar  occasion  liave  just  been  cited,  and,  I  trust,  with 
something  of  the  spirit  with  which  he  wrote  them,  I  would 
say,  that  of  this  interpretation  I  would  not  be  positive, 
but.  “  offer  it  as  a  matter  of  inquiry  to  such  who  think  an 
impartial  search  into  the  true  meaning  of  the  sacred  Scrip¬ 
ture  the  best  employment  of  all  the  time  they  have.” 

The  same  observations  I  would  apply  to  the  similar  pas¬ 
sage,  Colossians  i.  19,  20  :  *“It  hath  pleased  the  Father, 
that  in  him  all  fullness  should  dwell,  and,  having  made 
peace  through  his  blood  shed  on  the  cross,  that  by  him  he 
would  RECONCILE  ALL  THINGS  TO  HIMSELE ;  that  is,  all 
intelligent  creatures.” — Nciccome.  “By  him,  I  say,  whether 
they  be  things  on  earth  or  things  in  heaven.”  It  is  high¬ 
ly  probable  that  the  phrase,  “things  on  earth  or  things  in 
heaven,”  signifies  Gentiles  and  Jews.  But,  since  Gentiles 
and  Jews  comprehend  all  mankind,  it  seems  just  to  take 
this  passage  in  its  most  extensive  sense,  and  to  -consider  it 
as  affirming,  that  it  has  pleased  the  Father  to  appoint 
Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  great  instrument  of  reconciling  to 
himself  the  wdiole  human  race.  And,  if  this  be  so,  how 
can  the  intention  of  the  Father  be  accomplished,  if  the 
greater  number  of  human  beings  remain  for  ever  at  enmity 
with  him,  and  execrate  his  name  through  all  eternity,  or  if 
they  are  blotted  out  of  existence  because  a  reconciliation 
could  not  be  effected  between  them  ? 

That  remarkable  passage  in  Bomans  v.  12 — 21  has  al¬ 
ready  been  considered  in  the  last  chapter;  but  it  must  be 
again  brought  under  review  in  this.  “As  by  one  man  sin 
entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin ;  and  thus  death 
hath  passed  upon  all  men,  inasmuch  as  all  have  sinned  : 
(for  until  the  law,  sin  was  in  the  world;  but  sin  is  not  im¬ 
puted  when  there  is  no  law  :  nevertheless,  death  reigned 
from  x4xlam  to  Moses,  even  over  those  that  had  not  sinned 
after  the  likeness  of  AdanFs  transgression,  who  is  a 
resemblance  [a  type]  of  him  that  was  to  come  :  yet  the 
free  gift  likewise  is  not  so,  as  was  the  offence ;  for  if 
through  the  offence  of  one  many  have  died,  much  more 
the  favour  of  God,  and  the  gift  which  is  through  the  favour 
of  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  hath  abounded  unto  many. 
Neither  is  the  gift  so,  as  it  was  by  one  who  sinned;  for 
the  judgment  was  of  one  offence  to  condemnation,  but  the 
free  gift  is  of  many  offences  to  justification.  For  if,  by  the 


SCRIPTURE  AFFIRMATIVE  OF  FIXAL  RESTORATION. 


239 


offence  of  one  cleatli  reigned  by  one,  much  more  those  who 
receive  the  abounding  of  favour  and  of  the  gift  of  justifi¬ 
cation  will  reign  in  life  by  one,  even  Jesus  Christ.)  So, 
then,  as  by  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all 
men  to  condemnation ;  so,  likewise,  by  the  righteousness 
of  one,  the  free  gift  hath  come  upon  all  men  to  justification 
of  life.  For  as  by  the  disobedience  of  one  many  were 
made  sinners,  so,  likewise,  by  the  obedience  of  one  many 
will  be  made  just.  How  the  law  entered  in  privily,  so 
that  offences  abounded.  But  where  sin  abounded,  the  fa¬ 
vour  of  God  hath  much  more  abounded ;  that  as  sin  hath 
reigned  through  death,  so  favour  likewise  might  reign  by 
justification  to  everlasting  life  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  A 
In  this  passage  all  men  are  said  to  have  been  made 
mortal  by  the  offence  of  Adam,  and  here  the  phrase 
“  all  men/-’  must  necessarilv  be  understood  to  signify  every 
individual  of  the  human  race.  Though  the  stvle  of  the 
apostle  in  this  passage  is  remarkably  intricate  and  per¬ 
plexed,  yet  his  meaning  is  clear,  and  can  scarcely  be  mis¬ 
understood.  He  affirms  that  sin  entered  into  the  world  by 
Adam,  and  that,  in  consequence  of  his  offence,  death 
passed  upon  all  men,  or  all  men  became  mortal.  Thus 
many  were  made  sinful  or  mortal  by  one.  In  this  sense 
Adam  was  a  type  of  Jesus  Christ ;  for,  as  all  mankind 
became  subject  to  great  privation  and  suffering  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  offence  of  one,  namely,  Adam,  so  the  greatest 
privileges  and  blessings  are  bestowed  upon  all  mankind  in 
consequence  of  the  obedience  of  one,  namely,  Jesus  Christ. 
But  it  is  only  in  this  single  circumstance,  that  all  suffer 
and  all  are  benefited  by  one,  that  there  is  any  analogy  be¬ 
tween  them ;  for  in  every  other  respect  there  is  the  great¬ 
est  possible  difference  between  Adam  and  Christ.  The 
act  entailing  such  important  consequences  upon  the  whole 
human  race  was  on  the  part  of  Adam  an  act  of  trans¬ 
gression — on  the  part  of  Christ  an  act  of  obedience.  And 
there  is  a  still  further  disparity  between  them;  for  the 
calamities  resulting  from  the  acts  of  transgression  were  the 

o  o 

legal  punishment  of  the  offence ;  but  the  blessings  accruing 
from  the  act  of  obedience  were  not  such  as  could  be 
claimed  by  law,  but  were  the  free,  unpurcliased,  unmerited 
gift  of  God.  And  the  consequences  of  the  act  of  trans¬ 
gression  and  the  act  of  obedience  may  be  placed  in  still 


240 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


more  striking  contrast;  for  tke  act  of  transgression  was 
but  one,  and  yet  death,  with  all  the  calamities  connected 
with  it,  passed  upon  the  whole  human  race,  while  the  act 
of  obedience  provides  justification  for  many  offences.  Nor  is 
this  all ;  for  the  blessings  procured  for  mankind  by  the 
obedience  of  Christ  are  unspeakably  greater  than  the 
calamities  brought  upon  them  by  the  offence  of  Adam. 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  argument  of  the  apostle.  Not¬ 
withstanding  all  the  obscurity  and  perplexity  of  his 
language,  whoever  reads  the  passage  with  attention  must 
perceive  that  these  are  the  ideas  which  were  in  his  mind. 
And  in  the  whole  compass  of  Christian  truth  there  is  no  doc¬ 
trine  more  important  or  more  glorious  than  that  which  is 
thus  disclosed.  It  is  a  direct  and  positive  declaration, 
that  the  blessings  provided  by  the  obedience  of  Christ 
shall,  in  the  number  of  persons  who  partake  of  them,  be 
coextensive  with  the  calamities  produced  by  the  offence  of 
Adam,  and  in  their  magnitude  and  value  shall  greatly 
exceed  them.  This  is  sufficient ;  this  is  decisive.  These 
ideas  were  in  the  mind  of  the  apostle.  This  is  the  doctrine 
which  he  plainly  and  indisputably  teaches,  and  nothing 
more  is  necessary ;  for,  even  though  it  should  be  proved, 

that  he  illustrates  his  doctrine  bv  a  fanciful  allusion  to 

«/ 

what  was  itself  only  an  allegory — that  his  reasoning  is  not 
in  every  respect  complete,  and  even  that  he  did  not  him¬ 
self  fully  comprehend  all  the  glorious  consequences  of  the 
sublime  truth  he  disclosed,  that  truth  would  be  neither  the 
less  important,  nor  the  less  certain. 

The  great  fact  itself — the  fact  which  it  was  his  object  and 
his  office  to  teach,  and  in  which  he  could  not  be  mistaken, 
was,  that  the  blessings  produced  by  the  obedience  of 
Christ  shall  be  as  extensive  as  the  evils  occasioned  bv  the 

t / 

offence  of  Adam — that  all  who  suffer  from  the  one  shall 
partake  of  the  benefits  of  the  other,  while  these  benefits 
themselves  shall  infinitely  exceed  and  overbalance  the 
calamities  entailed  upon  mankind  by  the  first  transgres¬ 
sion.  The  conclusion  is  inevitable,  that  the  whole  human 
race,  without  exception,  shall  ultimately  be  restored  to 
virtue  and  happiness.  By  one  passage  of  Scripture,  then, 
at  least,  the  doctrine  which  it  is  the  object  of  this  work 
to  establish  is  positively  and  expressly  affirmed,  and  this 
is  decisive. 


241 


THROUGH  “  CHRIST  SHALL  ALL  BE  MADE  ALIVE.” 


But  this  passage  is  of  great  importance  in  another  view. 
It  may  be  justly  considered  as  confirming,  in  no  incon¬ 
siderable  degree,  the  interpretation  which  has  been  sug¬ 
gested  of  the  passage  in  Ephesians  and  Colossians;  for  in 
this  passage  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that,  while  it  is  the 
object  of  the  apostle’s  reasoning  to  show  that  all  mankind, 
whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  are  alike  participators  of  the 
divine  favour,  and  included  in  the  gospel  dispensation,  it 
likewise  follows,  from  his  argument,  that  it  is  equally  the 
intention  of  the  benevolent  Author  of  this  dispensation  to 
bestow  immortality  upon  the  whole  human  race,  and  to 
advance  them  to  a  state  of  pure  and  perfect  virtue  and 
happiness. 

I  omit  1  Timothy  iv.  10  ;  ii.  3,  4  ;  1  John  ii.  2  ;  Phi- 
lippians  ii.  9 — 11;  Hebrews  ii.  8;  which  were  formerly 
adduced  as  proofs,  that  all  mankind  will  ultimately  be 
placed  in  a  state  of  virtue  and  happiness.  All  these  pas¬ 
sages,  indeed,  seem  perfectly  to  harmonize  with  this 
opinion,  but  some  of  them  now  I  think  too  obscure  to  be 
alleged  in  proof  of  any  controverted  doctrine  ;  and  all  of 
them,  it  is  probable,  relate  to  a  different  subject  than  that 
of  the  future  condition  of  mankind. 

There  is,  however,  another  passage  which  still  appears 
to  me  expressly  to  the  point,  and  decisive  of  it,  namely, 
1  Corinthians  xv.  21 — 29:  “For  since  by  man  came 
death,  bv  man  also  cometh  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 


For  as  through  Adam  all  die,  so  likewise  through  Christ 
all  will  be  made  alive.  But  every  one  in  his  own  order  : 
Christ  the  first-fruits ;  afterwards  those  that  are  Christ’s 
at  his  appearance.  Then  will  be  the  end,  when  Christ 
shall  have  delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the 
F ather ;  when  he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule,  and  all 
authority  and  power  :  for  he  must  reign  till  he  have  put 
all  enemies  under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy  shall  be 
destroyed,  even  death.  For  fhe  hath  subjected  all  things 
under  his  feet.’  But  when  it  is  said,  ‘All  things  are  sub¬ 
jected,’  it  is  manifest  that  he  is  excepted  who  subjected  all 
things  to  him.  And  when  all  things  shall  be  subjected  to 
him,  then  the  Son  himself  also  will  be  subjected  to  him 
who  subjected  all  things  to  him,  that  God  may  be  all 
among  all.” 


Although  it  may  be  difficult  to  ascertain  the  exact 

16 


242 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


meaning  of  certain  parts  of  this  passage,  yet  it  appears  to 
me  to  contain  a  clear  and  positive  annunciation  of  the  sub¬ 
lime  and  glorious  truth,  that  the  consummation  of  the 
divine  dispensations  will  be  the  extinction  of  death,  and 
sin,  and  misery,  and  the  universal  and  eternal  prevalence 
of  immortality,  virtue,  and  happiness.  “  For  since  by  man 
came  death,  by  man  also  cometh  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  For  as  through  Adam  all  die,  so  likewise  through 
Christ  all  be  made  alive.”  “  It  is  evident,”  as  Mr 
Belsham  observes,*  “  that  the  apostle  here  assumes,  as  the 
foundation  of  his  analogy  the  account  of  the  fall  of  man, 
as  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  and  argues  upon  it  as 
literally  true,  that,  according  to  his  account,  all  the  pos¬ 
terity  of  Adam,  the  whole  human  race  without  exception, 
were  victims  to  mortality,  in  consequence  of  the  fall  of 
their  first  parents  in  Paradise — that,  according  to  the 
same  account,  as  all  were  sufferers  through  him,  so  all 
shall  be  raised  to  life,  and  restored  to  that  state  of  dignity 
and  happiness  from  which  Adam  unhappily  fell — that  thus 
Christ  shall  amply  repair  the  ruins  of  the  fall,  and  the  se¬ 
cond  Adam  completely  efface  the  dishonour  and  misery 
entailed  by  the  first.” 

Mr  Belsham,  in  his  excellent  commentary  on  this  pas¬ 
sage,  further  remarks,*  that  “  it  is  very  plain  that  the 
resurrection  of  which  the  apostle  treats  in  this  celebrated 
chapter  is  the  resurrection,  not  of  a  chosen  few,  of  a  select 
number,  whether  greater  or  less,  but  that  of  the  whole 
human  race.  The  ap  os  tie’s  language  is  so  clear  and  full 
with  respect  to  the  final  happiness  of  those  who  are  thus 
raised,  and  that  their  resurrection  to  life  will  be  ultimately 
a  blessing,  that  the  generality  of  Christians  have  supposed 
that  he  is  here  treating  of  the  resurrection  of  the  virtuous 
only.1  But  this  is  not  the  fact.  He  evidently  speaks  of  the 
restoration  of  the  whole  human  race — All  who  die  by 
Adam  shall  be  raised  by  Christ — otherwise  the  apostle’s 
assertion  would  be  untrue.  The  case,  then,  would  have 
been  this  :  As  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  a  select 
number,  a  small  proportion,  be  made  alive.  But  this  is  not 
the  apostle’s  doctrine.  His  expressions  are  equally  universal 
in  each  clause.  All  die  in  Adam.  The  same  All,  with¬ 
out  any  exception,  without  any  restriction,  shall  by  Christ 
*  See  Belsham.  on  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  in  loc. 


THROUGH  cc  CHRIST  SHALL  ALL  BE  MADE  ALIVE.” 


243 


be  restored  to  life,  and  ultimately  to  holiness  and  ever¬ 
lasting*  happiness.  And,  to  guard  against  the  abuse  of 
this  doctrine,  he  proceeds  to  declare,  that  all  will  not  be 
admitted  at  the  same  time  to  the  participation  of  final 
happiness;  for,  though  all  men  will  be  restored  to  life,  and 
raised  to  happiness,  all  will  not  be  made  happy  at  once, 
but  each  will  be  advanced  as  he  becomes  qualified  for  his 
reward,  till  in  the  end  the  enemies  of  Christ  shall  all  be 
subdued,  and  his  authority  shall  be  universally  acknow¬ 
ledged  and  obeyed — but  every  one  in  his  proper  class,  not 
all  at  once.  There  will  be  a  gradation  in  the  introduction 
to  final  blessedness,  depending  upon  the  character  of  those 
who  are  to  partake  of  it.  f  Christ,  the  first-fruits/  He  is 
already  raised  to  life,  and  his  virtues,  his  labours,  and  his 
sufferings,  have  received  their  reward.  He  is  the  glorious 
first-fruits,  the  specimen  and  the  pledge  of  the  final  and 
universal  harvest.  f  Afterwards,  they  who  are  ChrisFs  at 
his  coming/  The  true  disciples  and  community  of  Jesus, 
all  the  upright  and  virtuous  in  every  age  and  country,  will 
next  be  raised  to  life  and  happiness,  and  this  joyful  event 
will  take  place  at  that  long-expected  period,  when  Jesus 
shall  appear  again  in  his  own  and  in  his  FatheFs  glory, 
invested  with  the  high  commission  to  raise  the  dead  and 
to  judge  the  world,  when  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first,  and,  being  acknowledged  by  him  as  his  friends  and 
followers,  shall  be  transformed  into  the  likeness  of  his 
glorious  person,  and  shall  enter  with  him  into  the  joy  of 
their  Lord.” 

From  the  remaining  part  .of  this  passage,  although  it 
may  not  be  possible  to  ascertain  with  certainty  and  pre¬ 
cision  what  is  meant  by  the  kingdom  with  which  Christ  is 
intrusted,  and  which  he  shall  ultimately  deliver  up  to  the 
Father,  nor  in  what  sense  he  shall  become  subject  to  him 
who  subjected  all  things  to  him — yet  we  may  safely 
deduce  the  following  conclusions  :  that,  after  the  resur- 
rection  of  the  just,  Christ  will  be  invested  by  the  Father 
with  authority  and  power  to  accomplish  some  great  purpose 
with  regard  to  mankind — that  that  purpose  can  be  nothing 
but  the  completion  of  the  wise  and  benevolent  design  of 
the  divine  government,  in  the  total  abolition  of  the  ca¬ 
lamities  introduced  by  the  fall — that  the  accomplishment 
of  this  gracious  purpose  alone  constitutes  the  end,  the 

16  * 


244 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


grand  consummation  of  all  things,  and  that,  though  this 
consummation  will  be  opposed  by  numerous  and- potent 
enemies,  yet  that  Christ  will  exert  the  power  with  which 
he  is  invested,  until  he  has  utterly  subdued  them,  when, 
having  completed  the  end  for  which  authority  was  dele¬ 
gated  to  him,  he  will  willingly  resign  it  into  the  hand  of 
the  Gracious  Parent,  the  Universal  Sovereign,  from  whom 
he  received  it,  who  shall  then  become  for  ever  all  things  to 
all  his  creatures. 

This  appears  to  be  the  clear  and  express  doctrine  of  the 
passage,  and  if  it  be  so  it  is  decisive.  The  ultimate  and 
universal  prevalence  of  immortality,  virtue,  and  happiness,  is 
thus  plainly  disclosed,  and  asserted  with  all  the  energy  and 
dignity  worthy  of  the  exalted  theme.  It  is  thus  evident, 
that  the  power  with  which  Christ  is  invested  is  not  given 
him  in  vain,  but  will  be  completely  effectual — that  his 
triumph  will  be  perfect — that  there  is  no  rule,  no  au¬ 
thority,  no  power  which  is  opposed  to  him,  which  he  will 
not  utterly  abolish,  no  enemy  which  he  will  not  put  under 
his  feet.  But  the  enemies  with  which  he  is  at  war,  the 
enemies  which  it  was  the  labour  of  his  life,  the  object  of  his 
death,  and  the  end  of  his  present  exaltation,  to  extermin¬ 
ate,  are  sin  and  misery,  and  death,  the  consequence  of 
sin.  And  over  these  we  are  assured  by  this  passage  that 
he  will  completely  triumph.  The  consequence  is  certain. 
The  conclusion  is  inevitable.  Immortality,  holiness,  and 
happiness,  must  in  the  end  universally  prevail.  How  else 
is  it  possible  that  these  declarations  can  be  accomplished  ? 
How  can  Christ  put  down  all  the  rule,  all  the  authority 
which  is  opposed  to  him,  if  a  malignant  and  omnipotent 
spirit  (called  the  devil)  succeed  in  making’  the  great  ma¬ 
jority  of  mankind  his  victims,  and  through  the  ages  of 
eternity  exercise  an  uncontrolled  dominion  over  them  ? 
How  can  Christ  subdue  all  things  unto  himself,  if  this  male¬ 
volent  being  and  his  agents  eternally  counteract  and 
oppose  him  ?  How  can  God  be  all  in  all,  if  the  greater 
number  of  his  creatures  incessantly  execrate  his  name, 
and  vent  the  most  horrid  blasphemies  against  him  ?  How 
can  death,  the  last  enemy  with  which  he  conflicts,  be  de¬ 
stroyed,  if  it  succeed  in  blotting  out  of  existence  for  ever 
millions  and  millions  of  human  beings  ?  The  onlv  idea  it  is 
possible  to  annex  to  the  destruction  of  death  is  the  preva- 


SCRIPTURE  IN  HARMONY  WITH  FINAL  RESTORATION.  245 


lence  of  life;  but,  if  (to  repeat  wliat  lias  already  been 
said)  death  effect  the  total  and  eternal  extinction  of  the 
conscious  existence  of  the  great  majority  of  mankind,  it  is 
not  vanquished — it  is  the  victor ;  it  is  not  destroyed — it 
triumphs. 

There  appears  to  be  no  reason  whatever  for  restricting 
the  application  of  this  passage  solely  to  the  righteous,  as, 
with  a  view  of  avoiding  the  force  of  the  preceding  observ¬ 
ations,  some  have  contended,  because  the  context  does 
not  require  this  limitation — because  the  expressions  which 
the  apostle  employs  are  of  too  universal  a  signification  to 
admit  of  it,  and  because  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  any¬ 
thing  but  the  wish  to  support  a  system  could  have  sug¬ 
gested  the  idea,  or  indicated  the  necessity  of  it. 

Such  is  the  Scriptural  evidence  in  favour  of  the  ultimate 
and  universal  prevalence  of  holiness  and  happiness.  All 
the  passages  which  have  been  cited  appear  necessarily  to 
imply  the  truth  of  this  opinion;  to  some  of  them  it  seems 
impossible  to  affix  any  other  meaning.  There  is  not  a 
single  passage  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament  which  does 
not  perfectly  harmonize  with  this  doctrine ;  but  several  of 
the  most  striking,  impressive,  and  cheering  assurances  of 
Scripture  are  totally  incompatible  with  the  opinions  which 
oppose  it.  With  the  highest  and  noblest  conceptions  we 
can  form  of  the  nature  and  dispensations  of  the  Deity, 
with  the  nature  of  man  and  the  nature  of  punishment — 
in  a  word,  with  all  that  natural  and  revealed  religion  teach 
concerning’  God,  concerning  his  human  offspring,  and  con¬ 
cerning*  a  future  state,  it  perfectly  accords.  With  this 
body  of  evidence  in  its  favour,  and  with  no  real  counter- 
evidence  of  any  kind  to  oppose  it,  it  may  surely  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  established. 

If  any  one  should  fear  that  its  inculcation  may  lessen  the 
dread  of  future  punishment,  and  thus  operate  to  the 
disadvantage  of  piety  and  virtue,  the  apprehension  must 
originate  in  a  misconception  of  the  doctrine,  or  an  ignorance 
of  human  nature.  To  teach  men  that  they  will  be 
visited  with  a  just  degree  of  punishment  for  the  sins  they 
commit — that  every  deviation  from  rectitude,  even  the 
slightest  and  the  most  secret,  that  every  improper  feeling 
and  thought  which  is  cherished,  must  bring  with  it  a  pro¬ 
portionate  degree  of  suffering — must  inevitably  do  so, 


246 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


unless  the  constitution  of  the  mind  and  the  whole  frame  of 
nature  be  changed — that  those  who  indulge  in  the  least 
degree  in  vice  must  necessarily,  in  all  situations  and  at  all 
seasons,  be  the  worse  for  it,  and  that,  if  they  continue  in 
a  vicious  course  to  the  end  of  life,  both  the  nature  of  the 
case  and  the  repeated  and  solemn  declarations  of  Scripture 
assure  us  that  the  pain  they  will  be  made  to  suffer  in  a 
future  world  will  be  most  severe  and  lasting — to  sup¬ 
pose  that  such  doctrine  will  encourage  sin,  is  to  imagine 
that  men  can  be  enamoured  of  misery,  and  that,  to  excite 
them  to  any  particular  course  of  conduct,  it  is  only  neces¬ 
sary  to  convince  them  that  it  will  terminate  in  their  ruin. 

If  men  cannot  be  restrained  from  dee  by  the  apprehen¬ 
sion  of  a  reasonable  and  just  degree  of  punishment,  it  is 
vain  to  hope  to  deter  them  by  menaces,  which  they  are 
satisfied  are  both  unreasonable  and  impossible.  To  sup¬ 
pose  that  they  will  encourage  themselves  in  sin,  from  a 
persuasion  that  the  misery  which  they  must  inevitably 
bring  upon  themselves  in  consequence  of  it,  will  terminate 
in  their  reformation,  is  to  imagine  that  they  are  insane  as 
well  as  vicious,  and  to  betray  the  baseness  of  our  own 
hearts,  by  showing  that  we  form  a  worse  opinion  of  man¬ 
kind  than  the  v7orst  of  men  deserve. 

Indeed,  it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  the  reasonable  and 
just,  the  solemn  and  impressive  sanctions  which  the 
Christian  religion  gives  to  the  Christian  law,  would  be 
attended  with  no  greater  moral  benefit  than  it  is  to  be 
feared  they  are,  were  they  always  Scripturally  enforced. 
It  requires,  howmver,  but  little  acquaintance  with  human 
nature  to  know,  that,  in  order  to  render  the  fear  of  punish¬ 
ment  availing  in  the  hour  of  temptation,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  satisfy  the  mind  both  of  its  equity  and 
certainty.  The  passions  of  the  heart  never  were,  and 
never  can  be  counteracted,  either  by  actual  injustice  or  by 
unreasonable  menaces  ;  and  to  teach  that  an  eternity  of  suf¬ 
fering  will  be  the  consequence  of  the  slightest  offence  is 
to  open  the  floodgates  of  sin,  to  deprive  the  mind  of  the 
most  powerful  motives  to  struggle  against  its  improper  in¬ 
clinations,  and  even  to  stimulate  it  to  the  pursuit  of  the 
unhallowed  objects  of  its  desire,  by  forcing  it  to  suspect 
the  weakness,  if  not  to  doubt  the  reality,  of  the  checks  by 
which  it  is  attempted  to  restrain  it.  Were  there,  there- 


DOCTRINE  OF  DIVINE  VENGEANCE  AN  EXCUSE  FOE  TYRANNY.  247 


fore^  no  other  argument  against  the  doctrines  of  Endless 
Misery  and  of  Total  Destruction,  than  that  afforded  by 
their  tendency  to  lessen  the  sanctions  of  morality,  by  de¬ 
stroying*  the  fear  of  punishment,  this  alone  would  bo 
sufficient  to  justify  a  distrust  of  their  truth. 

The  effects  of  the  unamiable  doctrine  of  Endless  Misery, 
and  of  its  kindred  opinions,  on  the  temper  and  conduct, 
have  been  strikingly  depicted  by  an  able  advocate  of  the 
doctrine  of  destruction.  “According-  to  men  A  sentiments 
of  God,  and  of  the  designs  and  measures  of  his  govern- 
ment,”  observes  Mr  Bourn,  in  his  Discourse  on  the  Gospel 
Doctrine  of  Future  Punishment,  “  such  hath  been  the 
influence  of  religion  on  their  temper  and  conduct.  And, 
if  they  have  not  framed  to  themselves  a  God  after  their 

t 

own  evil  hearts,  they  have  framed  their  own  hearts  agree¬ 
able  to  that  false  and  evil  character  which  they  were 

V 

taught  to  ascribe  to  God.  And  when  they  have  believed 
the  Deity  to  love  and  hate,  to  elect  and  reprobate,  nations, 
parties,  or  individuals,  without  reason  or  regard  to  the 
ends  of  good  government,  they  themselves  have  become 
more  arbitrary,  bigoted,  fierce,  unmerciful,  and  more  ad¬ 
dicted  to  hate  and  persecute  their  fellow-creatures,  all  who 
were  not  of  their  own  church,  and  whom  they  supposed  to 
be  reprobated  of  God. 

“  It  is  hardly  credible  that  inhumanity  and  cruelty 
would  ever  have  been  carried  to  such  excess  in  the  Chris¬ 
tian  world  as  they  actually  have  been,  had  they  not 
derived  countenance  and  support  from  these  antichristian 
and  barbarous  notions.  Tyrants  and  persecutors,  if  they 
have  not  invented  these  doctrines,  yet  have  applied  them 
to  excuse  to  their  own  consciences,  and  to  vindicate  to 
others,  the  most  iniquitous  and  cruel  proceedings ;  and, 
when  they  have  made  the  very  worst  use  of  their  power, 
in  persecuting  good  men — at  least  men  who  deserved  no 
such  punishment — they  have  persuaded  themselves  and 
others,  that  they  were  acting  like  the  Deity,  espousing  his 
cause,  and  maintaining  his  character  and  his  glory. 

“  The  court  of  inquisition,  as  established  in  many  coun¬ 
tries,  and  as  far  as  it  differs  from  civil  courts  of  judicature,  is 
declared  by  the  authors  and  maintainers  of  it  to  be  the 
nearest  imitation  of  the  divine  tribunal,  and  it  is  avowedly 
founded  upon  and  justified  by  the  doctrines  of  reprobation 


248 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


and  of  eternal  torments.  Jews,  infidels,  and  heretics,  are 
judged  in  that  court  to  be  criminals,  and  are  condemned. 
And  how  do  they  vindicate  this  procedure,  but  by  sup¬ 
posing  them  to  be  all  reprobated  and  abhorred  of  God  ? 
And  they  execute  them,  not  by  a  quick  despatch,  but  by 
the  most  lingering  torments.  And  what  do  they  plead  for 
this  cruelty,  but  that  it  is  an  act  of  faith — that  they  are 
doing  the  work  of  God,  and  that  he  will  expose  those 
wretches  to  the  like  torments  for  ever  ?  Thus  they  conquer 
nature  by  faith,  as  they  express  it ;  that  is,  they  extinguish 
all  sense  of  justice  and  relentings  of  mercy  in  their  own 
nature,  and  harden  themselves  in  iniquity  and  barbarity, 
by  the  belief  of  those  very  doctrines  we  are  exposing,  and 
by  them  they  defend  themselves  in  the  face  of  the  world, 
and  give  a  colour  and  sanction  of  religion  to  the  most 
enormous  wickedness.” 

The  doctrine,  on  the  other  hand,  which  it  is  the  object 
of  the  preceding  pages  to  establish,  discloses  a  principle 
which  is  more  benevolent  in  its  tendency,  and  which,  were 
it  properly  felt,  and  invariably  regarded  in  the  affairs  of 
life,  would  have  a  happier  effect  on  society  than  any  other 
opinion  which  has  ever  engaged  the  attention  of  men.  It 
leads  to  a  distinction  which  is  but  beginning  to  be  observed, 
even  by  the  intelligent  and  enlightened,  and  which,  when 
it  shall  come  to  be  general,  will  alter  astonishingly  the 
moral  condition  of  the  world.  It  leads  to  an  exact  dis¬ 
crimination  between  the  criminal  and  the  crime.  While  it 
inspires  us  with  abhorrence  of  the  offence,  it  softens  the 
heart  with  compassion  for  the  unhappy  condition  of  the 
offender,  induces  us  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to 
change  it,  to  give  him  better  views  and  better  feelings. 
When  we  hear  of  the  perpetration  of  a  crime,  we  are  too 
apt  to  think  only  of  punishment.  What  suffering  can  be 
too  great  for  such  a  wretch  ?  is  the  exclamation  which 
bursts  from  almost  every  lip.  The  sentiment  is  worthy  of 
the  unlovely  doctrines  which  produce  and  cherish  it.  A 
more  benevolent  system  would  excite  a  different  feeling. 
What  can  be  done  to  reclaim  the  unhappy  offender  ? 
What  means  can  be  taken  to  enlighten  his  mind  and 
meliorate  his  heart  ?  What  discipline  is  best  adapted  to 
his  mental  and  moral  disorder  ?  What  will  lead  him  back 
to  virtue  and  to  happiness  most  speedily,  and  with  least 


FAITH  IX  Gdffs  LOVE  PRODUCES  LOVE  IX  MAX.  249 

pain  ?  Sncli  is  the  feeling  of  the  mind  enlightened  by  the 
generous  doctrine  we  have  endeavoured  to  establish. 
Could  it  but  enter  the  heart  of  every  legislator — did  it  but 
guide  the  hand  that  constructs  the  cell  of  the  poor  captive 
— did  it  apportion  his  pallet  of  straw  and  his  scanty  meal — • 
did  it  determine  the  completeness  and  the  duration  of  his 
exclusion  from  the  light  of  day  and  the  pure  breeze  of 
heaven — did  it  apply  his  manacles  (if,  disdaining  to  treat  a 
human  being  with  more  indignity  than  is  practised  towards 
the  most  savage  brutes,  it  did  not  dash  his  chains  to  the 
earth),  what  a  different  aspect  would  these  miserable  man¬ 
sions  soon  assume  !  What  different  inhabitants  would 
they  contain  !  Prisons  would  not  then  be  the  hotbeds  of 

i 

vice,  in  which  the  youthful  offender  grows  into  the  hard¬ 
ened  criminal,  and  the  want  of  shame  succeeds  the 
abolition  of  principle,  but  hospitals  of  the  mind,  in  which 
its  moral  disorder  is  removed  by  the  application  of  effectual 
remedies. 

The  person  who  habitually  contemplates  all  mankind  as 
children  of  one  common  Father,  and  appointed  to  one 
common  destiny,  cannot  be  a  persecutor  or  a  bigot.  He 
mav  see  much  error  which  he  mav  lament,  and  much  mis- 
conduct  which  he  may  pity;  but  a  generous  affection 
towards  the  whole  human  race  will  dilate  his  heart.  To 
the  utmost  of  his  ability,  he  will  enlighten  the  ignorant, 
correct  the  erring,  sustain  the  weak,  bear  with  the  preju¬ 
diced,  and  reclaim  the  vicious.  Firm  to  his  own  principles, 
he  will  not  trench  on  the  liberty  of  others.  He  will  not 
harshly  censure,  nor  suspect  an  evil  motive  where  integrity 

and  conscience  obviouslv  direct  the  conduct.  Mildness 

«/ 

will  be  on  his  lips,  forbearance  will  mark  his  actions,  and 
universal  charity  will  connect  him  with  the  wise  and  good 
of  all  climes,  and  of  all  religions. 

He  who  believes  that  a  Being  of  almighty  power,  unerr¬ 
ing  wisdom,  and  unbounded  love,  is  seated  at  the  helm  of 
affairs,  and  is  making  every  event  promote,  in  its  appoint¬ 
ed  measure,  the  highest  happiness  of  all  intelligent  crea¬ 
tures,  must  possess  perpetual  serenity  and  peace.  The 
storm  of  adversity  may  gather  above  him  and  burst  upon 
his  head,  but  he  is  prepared  against  it,  and  it  cannot 
dismay  him.  He  knows  that  the  evils  which  encompass 
him  are  onlv  blessings  in  disguise.  The  fair  face  of  nature 

•ZOO 


250 


THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT. 


smiles  upon  liim  witli  a  brighter  radiance.  Tlie  boundless 
expanse  of  heaven  above  him,  the  painted  plain  beneath 
him,  the  glorious  sun  which  diffuses  light  and  life  over  the 
ample  and  beautiful  creation,  are  magnificent  gifts  of  his 
Father,  on  which  his  enlightened  eye  beholds  engraven 
the  promise  of  his  higher  destiny.  The  narrow  precincts  of 
the  tomb  can  neither  bound  nor  obstruct  his  enlarged 
view.  It  extends  beyond  the  circle  of  the  earth,  and 
reaches  to  that  celestial  world,  where  progression  in  ex¬ 
cellence  is  infinite,  and  happiness  is  unchanging  and  im¬ 
mortal.  Nothing  can  disturb  his  steady  confidence.  In 
the  most  awful  moment  of  his  earthly  existence,  his  feeling 
is  sublime  as  his  destiny  is  glorious.  Even  while  he  is 
partially  subdued  by  death,  and  dragged  to  the  confines  of 
the  tomb — while  he  is  sinking  into  it,  and  it  closes  over 
him,  he  can  exclaim  in  triumph,  “  0  death,  where  is  thy 
sting  ?  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  Thanks  be  to 

God,  who  giveth  me  the  victory  through  Jesus  Christ,  my 
Lord  ! ;; 

Such  are  the  effects  of  an  enlightened  and  Scriptural 
view  of  the. perfections  and  government  of  God,  and  the 
nature  and  destiny  of  man.  Indeed,  a  firm  persuasion, 
that  our  Creator  is  possessed  of  every  possible  excellence, 
that  he  is  our  constant  and  best  Friend,  that  we  are  en¬ 
tirely  at  his  merciful  disposal,  that  he  is  conducting  us, 
and  all  our  brethren  of  mankind,  by  the  wisest  means,  to 
the  highest  happiness,  and  that  the  natural  and  moral  dis¬ 
orders  which  afflict  us  are  the  instrument  by  which  he  will 
eventually  establish  the  universal  and  eternal  reign  of 
purity  and  bliss,  cannot  but  tend  to  expand  the  heart,  to 
cherish  the  benevolent  affections,  to  soften  the  manners, 
and  unite  the  whole  human  race  in  the  tenderest  bands  of 
friendship  and  affection.  Were  it  right  to  judge  of  the 
general  effect  which  the  frequent  and  serious  contem¬ 
plation  of  these  sublime  and  cheering  truths  would  have 
on  the  mind,  by  the  feeling  of  which  he  who  has  made 
this  humble  attempt  to  illustrate  and  establish  them  has 
been  conscious  while  engaged  in  the  pleasing  task,  with 
sincerity  he  might  say,  that  it  would  be  highly  favourable 
to  benevolence  and  to  happiness.  A  more  ardent  love  of 
the  Supreme  Being,  a  purer  and  warmer  attachment  to  his 
fellow- creatures,  a  more  anxious  desire  to  promote  the 


FAITH  IN  GOD’S  LOVE  PEODUCES  LOVE  IN  HAN. 


251 


attainment  of  genuine  excellence,  both  in  himself  and 
others,  has  glowed  in  his  heart  while  meditating  on  these 
delightful  subjects.  Uniformly  has  he  seemed  to  himself 
to  rise  from  the  contemplation  more  deeply  affected  than 
before  with  the  emotions  of  piety  and  benevolence.  May 
the  perusal  of  these  pages  produce  the  same  happy  effect 
on  the  mind  of  the  reader.  May  it  inspire  him  with  a 
fervent  love  of  God.  May  it  cherish  in  his  bosom  an 
ardent  and  generous  attachment  to  the  whole  family  of 
mankind.  May  it  enable  him  to  enjoy  with  more  reason¬ 
able,  pure,  and  social  satisfaction,  the  blessings  of  exist¬ 
ence,  and  to  sustain  in  a  manner  worthy  of  a  man  and  a 
Christian,  the  '  affliction  which  may  await  him.  May  it 
continually  cheer  him  with  the  most  glorious  hopes,  and 
fit  him  to  realize  them.  And  may  the  anticipation  of  the 
universal  and  everlasting  reign  of  Purity  and  Happiness 
hasten  his  own  attainment  of  both  ! 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


To  the  reader  who  may  be  desirous  of  investigating  further 
the  subject  discussed  in  the  preceding  pages,  it  may  perhaps  be 
useful  to  be  acquainted  with  the  names  of  the  worts  which  at 
different  times  have  appeared  upon  it.  I  have  therefore  drawn 
out  a  list  of  the  chief  of  those  with  which  I  am  at  present 
acquainted,  to  which  I  at  first  intended  to  have  added  some 
citations  from  the  worts  of  the  more  early  Christian  writers,  in 
order  to  show  that  “  this  opinion  is  not  strange  and  unusual,  nor 
counted  so  absurd  a  tenet  by  the  pious  and  learned  of  elder 
times,  as  it  is  by  the  generality  of  persons  in  the  present  day 
imagined  to  be  ;  ”  but  this  could  not  have  been  done  without  a 
considerable  enlargement  of  the  volume,  which  has  alreadv 
swelled  to  a  bulk  much  bevond  what  was  originally  contem- 

B-  l—/  ■ 

plated. 

In  the  early  writings  on  this  subject,  as  well  as  in  some 
modern  publications,  there  is  much  which  appears  to  me  to  be 
false  and  inconclusive,  both  in  the  principles  upon  which  the 
doctrine  of  restoration  is  founded,  and  in  the  passages  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  which  are  cited  to  prove  it ;  but  in  all  of  them  there  is 
much  that  is  solid  and  excellent;  and  I  believe  I  may  venture 
to  affirm,  that  there  is  not  one  contained  in  the  present  list, 
from  the  perusal  of  which,  the  intelligent  and  pious  will  not  de¬ 
rive  both  pleasure  and  improvement. 

Origen  is  celebrated  for  having  maintained  and  propagated 
the  opinion,  that  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  will  be  limited 
and  corrective,  and  that  thev  will  be  ultimately  restored  to 
purity  and  happiness.  Clemens  Alexandrians,  the  master  of 
Origen.  Gregory  Kazianzen,  Gregory  Xyssenus,  Sulpicius,  Ser- 
verus,  Domitianus,  Bishop  of  Ancyra,  and  Tacundus,  appear  to 
have  entertained  the  same  opinion. 

In  modern  times,  the  works  which  have  appeared  on  this  sub¬ 
ject  are  numerous.  There  is  an  ingenious  piece  written  upon  it 
in  French,  by  a  nobleman  and  minister  of  the  court  of  the  King 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


of  Prussia,  entitled  Entretien3  sur  la  Restitution  Universelle  de 
la  Creation;  or  Conferences  upon  the  Universal  Restitution  of 
the  Creation,  betwixt  Dositheus  and  Theophilus. 

In  “the  second  volume  of  The  Phoenix,  or  a  Revival  of 
Scarce  and  Valuable  Pieces  nowhere  to  be  found  but  in  the 
Closets  of  the  Curious,”  a  work  published  in  London,  in  1708,  is 
an  extraordinary  paper  on  this  subject.  It  is  “  supposed  to  have 
been  written  by  one  VLr  Richardson,”  and  was  first  printed  in 
1058.  It  is  remarkable  for  its  Scripture  criticisms,  which  would 
be  read  with  much  interest  in  the  present  day.  The  Piece  is  en¬ 
titled,  “Of  the  Torments  of  Hell;  the  Foundation  and  Pillars 
thereof  discovered,  searched,  shaken,  and  removed.  With  infalli¬ 
ble  Proofs,  that  there  is  not  to  be  a  Punishment  after  this  Life, 
for  any  to  endure,  that  shall  never  end.” 

In  the  first  volume  of  The  Phoenix  is  “'A  letter  of  Resolution 
concerning  Origen  and  the  chief  of  his  Opinions,”  in  which 
there  are  many  strong  and  extremely  well-written  passages  in 
favour  of  this  opinion.  This  letter,  first  printed  in  1661.  was 
written  by  Bishop  Rust,  a  learned  prelate  of  the  Church  of  Ire¬ 
land,  the  intimate  friend  of  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor. 

Dr  Henry  More,  in  his  Divine  Dialogues,  printed  in  the  year 
1668,  speaks  very  favourably  of  this  opinion. 

Dr  TillotSon,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  seems  to  incline  to 
this  opinion,  though  he  speaks  on  the  subject  with  much  doubt. 
See  his  fourth  volume  of  Sermons,  p.  161. 

Le  Clerc,  in  his  Bihliotlieque  Choisie  (1705),  p.  292,  has  ex¬ 
plained  the  views  of  Tillotson,  and  more  directly  advocated 
the  opinion  of  a  universal  restoration.  He  also  mentions  Mr 
Camphuyse,  a  person  famous  in  Holland,  as  having  “  publicly 
declared  that  he  had  been  tempted  to  reject  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion  altogether,  whilst  he  believed  that  it  taught  the  eternity 
of  torments,  and  that  he  never  overcame  those  temptations  till 
he  found  that  the  threats  of  the  gospel  might  be  taken  in 
another  sense.”  See  also  Le  Clerc’s  Parrhasiana  (1701),  i. 
313. 

The  Restoration  of  All  Things  ;  or  a  Vindication  of  the  Grace 
and  Goodness  of  God  to  be  manifested  at  last  in  the  Recovery 
of  his  whole  Creation,  out  of  their  Fall.  By  Jeremy  White. 
London,  1712. 

This  treatise  was  first  published  a  few  years  after  the  decease 
of  the  learned  writer,  who  had  been  chaplain  to  the  Protector 
Cromwell.  The  anonymous  editor,  in  his  preface,  sustains  his 
author’s  opinion  by  several  authorities,  and  proposes  by  the 
publication  as  “  an  acceptable  service,  to  represent  God  in  his 
most  amiable  excellencies,  and  vindicate  the  super-eminence  of 


254 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


his  love,  which  is  his  nature,  and  the  full  latitude  of  his  mercy 
and  goodness  towards  his  creatures,  which  has  had  a  cloud  or 
vail  of  darkness  drawn  over  it  in  the  minds  of  the  generality  of 
mankind.” 

A  Treatise  concerning  the  State  of  departed  Souls  before,  and 
at,  and  after,  the  Resurrection.  Written  originally  in  Latin,  by 
the  late  Rev.  Dr  Thomas  Burnet,  1733.  See  the  conclusion  of 
his  10th  chapter. 

Dr  Newton,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  in  one  of  the  Dissertations  in 
his  Works,  will  he  found  an  able  and  ardent  advocate  of  this 
opinion. 

The  World  unmasked ;  or,  the  Philosopher  the  greatest  Cheat. 
In  Twenty-four  Dialogues,  between  Crito,  a  Philosopher,  Philo, 
a  Lawyer,  and  Erastus,  a  Merchant.  To  which  is  added,  the 
State  of  Souls  separated  from  their  Bodies.  Being  an  Epistola- 
tory  Treatise,  wherein  is  proved,  by  a  variety  of  Arguments, 
deduced  from  Holy  Scripture,  that  the  Punishments  of  the 
Wicked  will  not  be  Eternal,  and  all  Objections  against  it  solved. 
Translated  from  the  Erencli.  London,  1736. 

In  the  “  Letters  by  several  eminent  Persons  deceased”  (1773), 
ii.  157,  are  some  remarks  by  Mr  AY.  Duncombe,  on  a  letter 
from  Rev.  Samuel  Say,  in  which  the  former  contends  against  the 
doctrine  of  endless  torments,  or  “vindicative  justice  in  the 
Deity,”  that  “  all  punishment  in  the  hands  of  an  infinitely  wise 
and  good  Being  must  be  medicinal,  or  wliat  wTe  call  chastise¬ 
ment.” 

An  Essay  on  the  Scheme  and  Conduct,  Procedure  and  Extent, 
of  Man’s  Redemption,  wherein  is  shown,  from  the  Holy  Scrip¬ 
tures,  that  this  great  Work  is  to  be  accomplished  by  a  gradual 
Restoration  of  Man  and  Nature  to  their  primitive  State.  By 
AY.  AYorthington,  A.M.  London,  1748.  Second  edition. 

The  Philosophical  Principles  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion 
unfolded  in  a  Geometrical  Order.  By  the  Chevalier  Ramsay. 
2  volumes,  quarto.  Arol.  i.  book  vi.  prop,  lviii.  London,  1751. 

An  extract  from  Chevalier  Ramsay’s  Explanations  of  St 
Paul’s  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  on  the  General  Principles  of 
Grace.  By  John  Atkins,  author  of  Universal  Redemption. 
Canterbury,  1794. 

Universal  Restitution,  a  Scripture  Doctrine.  This  proved  in 
several  Letters,  w-rote  on  the  Nature  and  Extent  of  Christ’s 
Kingdom.  AYherein  the  Scripture  Passages,  falsely  alleged  in 
proof  of  the  Eternity  of  Hell  Torments,  are  truly  translated  and 
explained.  By  Mr  Stonehouse,  Rector  of  Islington.  London, 
!761. 

The  Mystery  hid  from  Ages  and  Generations,  made  manifest 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


255 


by  the  Gospel  Revelation  ;  or,  the  Salvation  of  All  Men,  the 
grand  Thing  aimed  at  in  the  Scheme  of  God,  as  opened  in  the 
Mew  Testament  Writings,  and  intrusted  with  Jesus  Christ  to 
bring  into  effect.  By  Charles  Chauncy,  D.D.,  of  Boston,  in 
Mew  England.  London,  1784.  Also,  by  the  same  Author,  The 
Benevolence  of  the  Deity  considered.  Boston,  1784. 

An  Humble  Attempt  to  investigate  and  defend  the  Scripture 
Doctrine  concerning  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 
To  which  is  added,  Observations  concerning  the  Mediation  of 
Jesus  Christ,  in  the  various  Dispensations  of  God  the  Father, 
and  the  final  Issue  of  his  Administration.  By  James  Purves. 
Edinburgh,  1784.  Second  edition. 

Thoughts  on  the  Divine  Goodness,  relating  to  the  Government 
of  Moral  Agents,  particularly  displayed  in  Future  Rewards  and 
Punishment.  Translated  from  the  French  of  O.  F.  Petitpierre. 

Observations  on  Man,  his  Frame,  his  Duty,  and  his  Expecta¬ 
tions.  In  two  parts.  By  David  Hartley,  M.A.  Johnson, 
London,  1791. 

Matural  and  Revealed  Religion  explaining  each  other.  In 
Two  Essays.  The  first  showing  what  Religion  is  Essential  to 
Man.  The  second,  the  State  of  Souls  after  Death  as  discovered 
by  Revelation.  Harleian  Miscellany.  Quarto,  vol.  vi.  p.  89  ; 
octavo,  vol.  ii.  p.  94.  London,  1795. 

The  Universal  Restoration  exhibited  in  a  Series  of  Dialogues 
between  a  Minister  and  his  Friend.  Wherein  the  most  formidable 
Objections  are  stated,  and  fully  answered.  By  Elhanan  Win¬ 
chester.  Fourth  Edition.  Revised  and  Corrected,  with  Motes, 
Critical  and  Explanatory.  By  W.  Tidier.  London,  1799. 

A  Letter  to  the  Rev.  C.  Pj.  De  Coetlogon,  A.M.,  Editor  of 
President  Edwards’  lately-revived  Sermon  on  the  Eternity  of 
Hell  Torments.  By  the  Author  of  Dialogues  on  the  Universal 
Restoration.  London,  1789. 

The  Everlasting  Gospel,  commanded  to  be  preached  by  Jesus 
Christ,  Judge  of  the  Living  and  the  Dead,  unto  all  Creatures, 
Mark  xvi.  15,  concerning  the  Eternal  Redemption  found  out  by 
him,  whereby  Devil,  Sin,  Hell,  and  Death,  shall  at  last  be 
abolished,  and  the  whole  Creation  restored  to  its  primitive 
Purity  ;  being  a  Testimony  against  the  present  Antichristian 
World.  Written  originally  in  German  by  Paul  Siegvolck. 
Translated  and  first  printed  in  the  English  Language  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  in  the  year  1753.  London,  Reprinted  for  the  Editor, 
Elhanan  Winchester,  1792. 

Conversations  on  the  Divine  Government,  showing  that  every¬ 
thing  is  from  God,  and  for  good  to  all.  By  Theophilus  Lindsey, 
M.A.  Johnson,  London,  1802. 

Letters  to  Mr  Fuller  on  the  Universal  Restoration,  with  a 


256 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


Statement  of  the  Pacts  attending  that  Controversy,  and  some 
Strictures  on  Scrutator’s  Beview.  By  W.  Vidler.  London 
1803. 

An  Essay  on  the  Duration  of  a  Euture  State  of  Punishment 
and  Bewards.  By  John  Simpson.  London,  1803. 

Eternity  of  Hell  Torments  Indefensible — an  Essay  on  Euture 
Punishment.  By  B.  Wright.  Eaton,  London.  Second  edition. 

Theological  Disquisitions.  2  vols.  By  T.  Cogan,  M.D.  Yol. 
ii.  p.  367.  Cadell  and  Davies. 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


The  author  had  brought  the  history  of  the  works  bearing  on 
his  argument  up  to  the  year  1813.  But,  since  that  time,  the 
opinion  he  advocated  has  grown  and  spread  so  that  it  has  now 
a  much  wider  range  of  sympathizers.  As  a  most  important  sign 
of  this,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  full  Court,  both  lay  and  clerical, 
of  the  Privy  Council,  has  decided  that  there  is  nothing  heretical 
or  contrary  to  the  “  standards  of  the  Church  ”  in  the  doctrine  of 
what  is  termed  “  Universal  Bestoration,”  and  many  clergymen 
of  the  Establishment  have  openly  avowed  their  adoption  of  that 
proposition. 

The  names  of  the  principal  works  published  since  the  comple¬ 
tion  of  the  Author’s  list,  and  supporting  his  views  on  this  sub¬ 
ject,  are  here  given  for  the  advantage  of  those  who  may  wish  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  tone  of  modem  thought  in  relation 
to  this  question. 

Discourses  on  LTniversal  Bestoration.  By  John  Prior  Estlin. 
London,  1813. 

Two  Essays  on  the  Doctrine  of  Eternal  Punishments.  Trans¬ 
lated  from  the  Erench  of  D’Alembert.  London,  1823. 

The  Destitution  of  All  Things  ;  an  Essay.  By  James  Brown, 
D.D.,  of  Barnwell.  London,  1824. 

An  Inquiry  into  the  Scriptural  Import  of  the  words  ScJieoI, 
Hades ,  Tartarus ,  and  Gehenna  :  all  translated  Hell  in  the  common 
English  Version.  By  Walter  Balfour.  Charleston,  U.S.,  1824 
(4th  revised  edition,  Boston,  1854). 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


257 


Ah  Inquiry  into  the  Scriptural  Doctrine  concerning  the  Devil 
and  Satan,  and  into  the  Extent  and  Duration  expressed  by  the 
terms  Olirn,  Aion,  and  Aionios,  rendered  “everlasting,”  “for  ever,” 
See.,  in  the  Common  Version,  and  especially  when  applied  to 
Punishment.  Bv  Walter  Balfour.  Charleston,  II. S.,  1826. 

Ileber  alleinseligmachende  Ivirche.  Fried.  Wilh.  Carove. 
Frankfort,  1S26.  Gottingen,  1S27. 

Three  Questions  proposed  and  answered,  concerning  the  Life 
forfeited  by  Adam,  the  Resurrection  of  the  Dead,  and  Eternal 
Punishment.  By  David  Thom.  Liverpool,  1828  (4th  revised 
edition.  London,  1855). 

Selections  from  eminent  Commentators,  who  have  believed  in 
Punishment  after  Death,  wherein  they  have  agreed  with  Uni- 
versalists  in  their  Interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  relating  to 
Punishment,  By  Lucius  Robinson  Paige.  Boston,  U.S.,  1833 
(revised  edition,  1859). 

Xouvelles  Questions  Philosophiques.  G.  Oegger.  Berne,  1835. 

Leber  den  Paulinischen  Begriff  des  Versehenseins  des  Mens- 
chen  im  Xaraen  Jesu  vor  der  Welt  Schopfung.  Franz  von 
Baader.  Wiirzberg,  1837. 

Works  of  W.  E.  Channing,  D.D.  Boston,  L.S.  1S41.  London, 
1849.  (See  Sermon  on  the  Great  Purpose  of  Christianity.) 

An  Examination  of  the  Doctrine  of  Endless  Punishment.  By 
Isaac  D.  Williamson.  Cincinnati,  L.  S.,  1S47. 

Essays  in  Ecclesiastical  Biography.  By  Sir  James  Stephen. 
London,  1850  (3rd  edition,  1853).  See  epilogue  for  opinion  on 
Eternal  Punishment. 

La  Wort  Seconde  et  les  Peines  Eternelles.  Athanase  Coquerel. 
Paris,  1S50. 

Letter  to  a  Young  Minister  on  the  Duration  of  Future  Pun¬ 
ishment.  By  John  Foster,  republished  with  preface  by  the 
Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer,  D.D.  New  York,  1S53. 

Theological  Essays.  By  Frederick  Denison  Maurice,  M.A. 
Cambridge,  1853. 

The  word  “  Eternal,”  and  the  Punishment  of  the  Wicked  ;  a 
letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr  Zelf.  Bv  F.  D.  Maurice,  M.A.  London, 
1853. 

The  Epistles  of  St  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians,  Galatians,  Ro¬ 
mans.  By  Benjamin  Jowett,  M.A.,  Fellow  and  Tutor  of 
Baliol  College,  Oxford.  London,  1855. 

Man  and  his  Dwelling-Place  ;  an  Essay  towards  the  Inter¬ 
pretation  of  Nature.  By  James  Hinton.  London,  1859 
(new  edition,  1861). 

St  Paul’s  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  newly  translated  and  ex¬ 
plained  from  a  Missionary  point  of  view.  By  the  Right  Rev.  J. 
V  .  Colenso,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Natal.  Cambridge,  1861. 

17 


258 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


Essays  and  Reviews.  London,  1861. 

Eorgiveness  after  Death  :  Does  the  Bible  or  the  Church  of 
England  affirm  it  to  be  impossible?  A  Review  of  the  alleged 
Proofs  of  the  Hopelessness  of  the  Euture  State.  By  a  Clergy¬ 
man.  London,  1862. 

Eternal  Punishment.  National  Review  for  January,  1863. 
Works  of  Theodore  Parker  {passim).  Boston,  TJ.  S.  London 
1865. 


NOTE  A. 

That  the  Author  retained  his  view  of  the  beneficent  character 
of  much  that  is  called  evil  to  the  end  of  his  life, — greater  ex¬ 
perience  only  adding  increased  conviction, — is  evident  from  the 
tone  of  his  last  work.*  The  portion  of  the  Philosophy  of  Health 
which  treats  of  pain  is  here  quoted,  as  it  seems  to  add  a  further 
weight  of  evidence  to  the  argument  urged  in  the  text. 

All  sentient  beings  are  placed  under  the  dominion  of  two  great 
powers,  pleasure  and  pain.  During  every  moment  of  conscious¬ 
ness  they  are  under  the  influence  of  one  or  the  other  of  these 
powers.  We  cannot  conceive  of  a  sentient  being  who,  as  long 
as  he  is  sentient,  is  not,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  either  en¬ 
joying  or  suffering.  The  state  of  pleasure,  or  of  pain,  then,  being 
that  in  which  every  other  state  of  consciousness  terminates,  must 
be  the  ultimate  object  of  sentient  existence. 

Is  a  state  of  pain  the  ultimate  object  designed  and  secured  ? 
Is  this  state  the  ordained  and  the  actual  result  of  the  action  of 
sentient  organs  ?  That  cannot  be  ;  for  the  production  of  pain 
is  the  indirect,  never  the  direct ;  the  extraordinary,  never  the 
ordinarv,  result  of  the  actions  of  life.  It  is  clear  therefore  that 
the  dominion  over  sentient  existence  is  not  given  to  pain :  it 
must  then  have  been  assigned  to  pleasure,  the  opp'osite  power, 
for  there  is  no  other  of  which  it  is  possible  to  conceive. 

The  end  of  organic  existence  is  animal  or  sentient  existence  ; 
the  end  of  sentient  existence  is  pleasurable  existence  ;  the  end 
of  life  therefore  is  not  simple  consciousness,  but  pleasurable  con¬ 
sciousness  ;  not  mere  being,  but  well-being  ;  in  other  words, 
such  a  state  as  we  commonly  express  by  the  phrases  “  a  state  of 
pleasure  ”  or  “  a  state  of  enjoyment and  it  is  in  this  sense  that 
these  words  are  here  employed  throughout,  the  term  “  pleasure  ” 
being  used  as  opposed  to  “pain,”  and  “  enjoyment  ”  as  opposed 
to  “  suffering.” 

*  Philosophy  of  Health.  Longman,  1835. 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


259 


It  is  affirmed,  then,  that  every  organ  in  the  animal  body  is  so 
constructed  as  to  bring  about,  directly  or  indirectly,  a  state  ot’ 
pleasurable  consciousness  or  well-being  ;  that  to  this  object  the 
action  of  every  organ  is  subservient,  and  that  in  this  everv  such 
action,  when  natural  and  sound,  ultimately  terminates. 

Xo  other  evidence  of  this  is  necessary  than  the  fact,  if  it  can 
be  established  as  a  fact,  that,  in  the  entire  sentient  creation,  the 
higher  the  organized  structure  the  greater  is  the  range  of  func¬ 
tion  ;  and,  as  an  invariable  consequence,  the  higher  and  more 
varied  becomes  the  eniovment,  mediately  or  immediately,  con- 
nected  with  it.  From  its  most  simple  to  its  most  complex  state 
everv  successive  addition  to  structure,  by  which  function  is 
elevated  and  made  more  perfect,  proportionally  increases  the 
exquisiteness  of  the  pleasure  to  which  the  function  ministers, 
and  in  which  it  terminates. 

Such  is  the  constitution  of  the  animal  organization  that — 

Pleasure  is  the  result  of  the  action  of  living  organs. 

Pleasure  is  the  direct,  the  ordinary,  and  the  gratuitous  result 
of  their  action. 

Pleasure  is  conducive  to  their  complete  development,  and 
thereby  to  the  increase  of  their  capacity  for  affording  enjoyment. 

Pleasure  is  equally  conducive  to  the  perpetuation  of  their  ac¬ 
tions,  and  consequently  to  the  maintenance  of  life. 

It  follows  not  only  that  enjoyment  is  the  end  of  life,  but  that 
it  is  the  means  by  which  life  is  prolonged. 

Of  the  truth  of  each  of  these  propositions  it  will  be  interesting 
to  contemplate  the  plenitude  of  the  proof. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  pleasure  is  the  result  of  the  action  even 
of  the  organic  organs,  although  it  has  been  shown  that  one  cha¬ 
racter  by  which  thev  are  distinguished  is,  that  thev  are  unattended 
with  consciousness.  How,  then,  can  they  be  the  sources  of 
pleasure  P  By  a  special  provision,  consciousness  is  indirectly 
connected  with  the  processes  of  this  class,  limited  in  extent  in¬ 
deed,  and  uniformly  terminating  at  a  certain  point,  but  the  ex¬ 
tent  and  the  limitation  alike  conducing  to  the  pleasurableness  of 
its  nature.  And  this  is  an  adjustment  in  the  constitution  of 
our  frame  which  is  well  deserving  of  attention. 

The  principal  organs  by  which  the  organic  processes  are  per¬ 
formed,  are  placed  in  the  cavities  of  the  chest  and  abdomen. 
They  are  presided  over  by  that  portion  of  the  nervous  system 
which  is  termed  the  ganglionic,  or  organic  system.  Among  the 
peculiarities  of  this  system,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  is,- that 
it  is,  in  itself,  destitute  of  feeling.  Sensibility  is  inseparably 
associated  with  the  idea,  commonly  formed  of  a  nerve.  But  the 
nervous  system  consists  of  two  portions ;  one  presiding  over 
sensation  and  voluntary  motion,  hence  called  the  sentient  and 

17  * 


260 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


motor  portion ;  the  other  destitute  of  sensation,  but  presiding 
overall  the  movements  by  which  the  organic  processes  are  carried 
on,  hence  called  the  organic  portion.  The  influence  of  the 
organic  nerves  is  essential  to  the  organic  processes.  If  the 
communication  between  an  organic  nerve  and  an  organ  be  in¬ 
terrupted,  the  function  of  the  organ,  whatever  it  be,  is  arrested. 
Without  its  organic  nerves  the  stomach  cannot  secrete  gastric 
juice;  the  consequence  is,  the  aliment  is  undigested.  Without 
its  organic  nerves  the  liver  cannot  secrete  bile  ;  the  consequence 
is,  that  the  process  of  digestion  stops,  and  the  nutritive  part  of 
the  aliment  is  incapable  of  being  separated  from  its  excrementi- 
tious  portion.  The  organic  nerves  encompass  the  great  trunks 
of  the  blood-vessels  that  convey  the  material  of  nutriment,  that 
is,  arterial  blood,  to  the  organs.  In  all  its  ramifications  through 
an  organic  organ,  an  arterial  vessel  is  accompanied  by  its  organic 
nerves,  so  that,  wherever  the  arterial  capillary  branch  goes, 
secreting  and  nourishing,  there  goes,  inseparably  united  with  it, 
an  organic  nerve,  exciting  and  governing. 

But  this  nerve  neither  feels  nor  communicates  feeling  ;  hence 
it  can  impart  no  consciousness  to  the  operation  of  any  process 
dependent  upon  it.  Yet  there  is  not  one  of  these  processes  that 
does  not  exert,  during  every  moment  we  are  awake,  an  influence 
over  consciousness.  How  ?  By  a  special  process,  as  curious  in 
its  nature  as  it  is  important  in  its  results. 

Branches  of  sentient  nerves  are  transmitted  from  the  animal 
to  the  organic  system,  and  from  the  organic  to  the  animal ;  and 
an  intimate  communication  is  established  between  the  two  classes. 
The  mode  in  which  this  communication  is  effected  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  communicating  branches  that  unite  the  two  great 
nervous  centres,  the  sentient  and  the  non-sentient.  Each 
sentient  (spinal)  nerve  before  it  goes  out  to  the  animal  organs, 
to  which  it  is  destined  to  communicate  sensation,  sends  off  two 
branches  to  each  ganglion  of  the  sympathetic  or  organic  (non- 
sentient)  system.  Branches  are  equally  sent  off  from  the  gan¬ 
glionic  to  the  spinal  system.  The  sentient  mix  and  mingle  with 
the  insentient  nerves,  accompany  them  in  their  course  to  the 
organic  organs,  and  ramifv  with  them  throughout  their  substance. 
It  is  manifest,  then,  that  sentient  nerves,  nerves  not  necessary 
to  the  organic  processes,  having,  as  far  as  is  known,  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  those  processes,  enter  as  constituent  parts 
into  the  composition  of  the  organic  organs.  What  is  the  result  ? 
That  organic  organs  are  rendered  sentient ;  that  organic  pro¬ 
cesses,  in  their  own  nature  insensible,  become  capable  of  affect¬ 
ing  consciousness.  What  follows  ?  What  is  the  consciousness 
excited  ?  Yot  a  consciousness  of  the  organic  process.  Of  that 
we  still  remain  wholly  insensible.  Xot  simple  sensation.  The 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


261 


result  uniformly  produced,  as  long  as  the  state  of  the  system  is 
that  of  health,  is  pleasurable  consciousness.  The  heart  sends 
out  to  the  organs  its  yital  current.  Each  organ,  abstracting  from 
the  stream  the  particles  it  needs,  converts  them  into  the  peculiar 
fluid  or  solid  it  is  its  office  to  form.  The  stomach,  from  the 
arterial  steamlets  circulating  through  it,  secretes  gastric  juice  ; 
the  liver,  from  the  venous  streamlets  circulating  through  it,  se¬ 
cretes  bile.  AYhen  these  digestive  organs  have  duly  prepared  their 
respective  fluids,  they  employ  them  in  the  elaboration  of  the  ali¬ 
ment.  AY  e  are  not  conscious  of  this  elaboration,  though  it  goes  on 
within  us  every  moment ;  but  is  consciousness  not  affected  by  the 
process?  Most  materially.  AYhy  ?  Because  sentient  mingle  with 
organic  nerves  ;  because  the  sentient  nerves  are  impressed  by  the 
actions  of  the  organic  organs.  And  how  impressed  ?  As  long  as 
the  actions  of  the  organic  organs  are  sound,  that  is,  as  long  as 
their  processes  are  duly  performed,  the  impression  communicated 
to  the  sentient  nerves  is  in  its  nature  agreeable  ;  is,  in  fact,  the 

PLEASURABLE  CONSCIOUSNESS  WHICH  CONSTITUTES  THE  EEEL- 

ing  oe  health.  The  state  of  health  is  nothing  but  the  result 
of  the  due  performance  of  the  organic  organs  :  it  follows  that 
the  feeling  of  health,  the  feeling  which  is  ranked  by  every  one 
among  the  most  pleasurable  of  existence,  is  the  result  of  the 
action  of  organs  of  whose  direct  operations  we  are  unconscious. 
But  the  pleasurable  consciousness  thus  indirectly  excited  is  really 
the  consequence  of  a  special  provision,  established  for  the  express 
purpose  of  producing  pleasure.  Processes,  in  their  own  nature 
insensible,  are  rendered  sentient  expressly  for  this  purpose,  that, 
over  and  above  the  special  object  they  serve,  they  may  afford 
enjoyment.  In  this  case  the  production  of  pleasure  is  not  only 
altogether  gratuitous,  not  only  communicated  for  its  own  sake, 
not  only  rested  in  as  an  ultimate  object,  but  it  is  made  to 

commence  at  the  very  confines  of  life ;  it  is  interwoven  with  the 

»  * 

thread  of  existence  ;  it  is  secured  in  and  by  the  actions  that  build 
up  and  that  support  the  very  frame-work,  the  material  instru¬ 
ment  of  our  being. 

But  if  the  communication  of  sensibility  to  processes  in  their 
own  nature  incapable  of  exciting  feeling,  for  the  purpose  of  con¬ 
verting  them  into  sources  of  pleasurable  consciousness,  indicate 
an  express  provision  for  the  production  of  enjoyment,  that  pro¬ 
vision  is  no  less  exemplified  in  the  point  at  which  this  superadded 
sensibility  is  made  to  cease. 

Some  of  the  consequences  of  a  direct  communication  of  con¬ 
sciousness  to  an  organic  process  have  been  already  adverted  to. 
Had  the  eye,  besides  transmitting  rays  of  light  to  the  optic 
nerve,  been  rendered  sensible  of  the  successive  passage  of  each 
ray  through  its  substance,  the  impression  excited  by  luminous 


262 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


bodies,  which  is  indispensable  to  vision,  the  ultimate  object  of 
the  instrument,  if  not  wholly  lost,  must  necessarily  have  become 
obscure,  in  direct  proportion  to  the  acuteness  of  this  sensibility. 
The  hand  of  the  musician  could  scarcely  have  executed  its  varied 
and  rapid  movements  upon  his  instrument,  had  his  mind  been 
occupied  at  one  and  the  same  instant  with  the  process  of  muscular 
contraction  in  the  huger,  and  the  idea  of  music  in  the  brain. 
Had  the  communication  of  such  a  twofold  consciousness  been 
possible,  in  no  respect  would  it  have  been  beneficial,  in  many  it 
would  have  been  pernicious  ;  and  the  least  of  the  evils  resulting 
from  it  would  have  been,  that  the  inferior  would  have  interrupted 
the  superior  faculty,  and  the  means  deteriorated  the  end.  But 
in  some  cases  the  evil  would  have  been  of  a  much  more  serious 
nature.  Had  we  been  rendered  sensible  of  the  flow  of  the  vital 
current  through  the  engine  that  propels  it ;  were  the  distension 
of  the  delicate  heart-valves  that  direct  the  current  ever  present 
to  our  view  ;  by  some  inward  feeling  were  we  reminded,  minute 
by  minute,  of  the  progress  of  the  aliment  through  the  digestive 
apparatus,  and  were  the  mysterious  operations  of  the  organic 
nerves  palpable  to  sight,  the  terror  of  the  maniac,  who  conceived 
that  his  body  was  composed  of  unannealed  glass,  would  be  the 
ordinarv  feeling  of  life.  Every  movement  would  be  a  matter  of 
anxious  deliberation  ;  and  the  approach  of  every  body  to  our  own 
would  fill  us  with  dismay.  But  adjusted  as  our  consciousness 
actually  is,  the  point  at  which  the  organic  process  begins  is  that 
at  which  sensation  ends.  Had  sensation  been  extended  beyond 
this  point,  it  would  have  been  productive  of  pain :  at  this  point 
it  uniformly  stops.  Nevertheless,  by  the  indirect  connection  of 
sensation  with  the  organic  processes,  a  vast  amount  of  pleasure 
might  be  created :  a  special  apparatus  is  constructed  for  the 
express  purpose  of  establishing  the  communication.  There  is 
thus  the  twofold  proof,  the  positive  and  the  negative,  the  evi¬ 
dence  arising  as  well  from  what  they  do,  as  from  what  thev 
abstain  from  doing,  that  the  organic  processes  are,  ana  are  in¬ 
tended  to  be,  sources  of  enjoyment. 

But  the  production  of  pleasure,  commencing  at  this  the  lowest 
point  of  conscious  existence,  increases  with  the  progressive  ad¬ 
vancement  of  organization  and  function. 

The  appetite  for  food,  and  the  voluntary  actions  dependent 
upon  it,  may  be  considered  as  the  first  advancement  beyond  a 
process  purely  organic.  The  function  by  which  new  matter  is 
introduced  into  the  system  and  converted  into  nutriment,  is 
partly  an  animal,  and  partly  an  organic  operation.  The  animal 
part  of  it  consists  of  the  sensations  of  hunger  and  thirst,  by 
which  we  are  taught  when  the  wants  of  the  system  require  a 
fresh  supply  of  aliment,  together  with  the  voluntary  actions 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


253 


by  which  the  aliment  is  introduced  into  the  system.  The 
organic  part  of  the  function  consists  of  the  changes  which  the 
aliment  undergoes  after  its  introduction  into  the  system,  by 
which  it  is  converted  into  nutriment.  Sensations  always  of  a 
pleasurable  nature  arise  indirectly  in  the  manner  already  ex¬ 
plained,  from  the  due  performance  of  the  organic  part  of  the 
function ;  but  pleasure  is  also  directly  produced  by  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  the  animal  part  of  it.  "Wholesome  food  is  grateful ;  the 
satisfaction  of  the  appetite  for  food  is  pleasurable.  Food  is 
necessary  to  the  support  of  life  ;  but  it  is  not  indispensable  to 
the  maintenance  of  life  that  food  should  be  agreeable.  Appetite 
there  must  be,  that  food  may  be  eaten ;  but  the  act  of  eating 
might  have  been  secured  without  connecting  it  with  pleasure. 
Pleasure,  however,  is  connected  with  it,  first  directly,  by  the 
gratefulness  of  food,  and  secondly  indirectly,  by  the  clue  diges¬ 
tion  of  the  food.  And  the  annexation  of  pleasure  in  this  twofold 
mode  to  the  performance  of  the  function  of  nutrition  is  another 
case  of  the  gratuitous  bestowment  of  pleasure  ;  another  instance 
in  which  pleasure  is  communicated  for  its  own  sake,  and  rested 
in  as  an  ultimate  object.  Pleasures  of  this  class  are  sometimes 
called  low  ;  they  are  comparatively  low  ;  but  they  are  not  the 
less  pleasures,  because  they  are  exceeded  in  value  by  pleasures 
of  a  nobler  nature.  Man  may  regard  them  with  comparative 
indifference,  because  he  is  endowed  with  faculties  which  afford 
him  gratifications  superior  in  kind  and  larger  in  amount;  but  it 
is  no  mark  of  wisdom  to  despise  and  neglect  even  these  :  for 
they  are  annexed  to  the  exercise  of  a  function  which  is  the  first 
to  exalt  us  above  a  merely  organic  existence  ;  they  are  the  first 
pleasures  of  which,  considered  merely  as  sentient  creatures,  we 
are  susceptible  ;  they  amount  in  the  aggregate  to  an  immense 
sum ;  and  they  mark  the  depth  in  our  nature  in  which  are  laid 
the  fountains  of  enjoyment. 

Organs  of  sense,  intellectual  faculties,  social  affections,  moral 
powers,  are  superadded  endowments  of  a  successively  higher 
order  :  at  the  same  time,  they  are  the  instruments  of  enjoyment 
of  a  nature  progressively  more  and  more  exquisite. 

An  organ  of  sense  is  an  instrument  composed  of  a  peculiar 
arrangement  of  organized  matter,  by  which  it  is  adapted  to  re¬ 
ceive  from  specific  agents  definite  impressions.  Between  the 
agent  that  produces  and  the  organ  that  receives  the  impression, 
the  adaptation  is  such,  that  the  result  of  their  mutual  action  is, 
in  the  first  place,  the  production  of  sensation,  and,  in  the  second 
place,  the  production  of  pleasure.  The  pleasure  is  as  much  the 
result  as  the  sensation.  This  is  true  of  the  eye  in  seeing,  the 
ear  in  hearing,  the  hand  in  touching,  the  organ  of  smell  in 
smelling,  and  the  tongue  in  tasting.  Pleasure  is  linked  with 


264 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  PIFTH  EDITION. 


the  sense ;  but  there  might  have  been  the  sense  without  the 
pleasure.  A  slight  difference  in  the  construction  of  the  organ,  or 
in  the  intensity  of  the  agent,  would  not  merely  have  changed,  it 
would  even  have  reversed  the  result ;  would  have  rendered  the 
habitual  condition  of  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  skin,  not  such  as  if 
now  is  in  health,  but  such  as  it  is  in  the  state  of  inflammation. 
But  the  adjustment  is  such  as  habitually  to  secure  that  condition 
of  the  system  in  which  every  action  that  excites  sensation  pro¬ 
duces  pleasure  as  its  ordinary  concomitant;  and  the  amount  of 
enjoyment  which  is  thus  secured  to  every  man,  and  which  every 
man  actually  experiences  in  the  ordinary  course  of  an  ordinary 
life,  it  would  be  beyond  his  power  to  estimate  were  he  always 
sensible  of  the  boon  ;  but  the  calculation  is  altogether  impossible, 
when,  as  is  generally  the  case,  he  merely  enjoys  without  ever 
thinking  of  the  provisions  by  which  he  enjoys. 

But  if  the  pleasures  that  arise  from  the  ordinary  operations  of 
sense  form,  in  the  aggregate,  an  incalculable  sum,  how  great  is 
the  accession  brought  to  this  stock  by  the  endowments  next  in 
order  in  the  ascending  scale,  namely,  the  intellectual  faculties  ! 

There  is  one  effect  resulting  from  the  operation  of  the  in¬ 
tellectual  faculties  on  the  senses  that  deserves  particular  atten¬ 
tion.  The  higher  faculties  elevate  the  subordinate  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  them  altogether  new  endowments.  In  illus¬ 
tration  of  this,  it  will  suffice  to  notice  the  change  wrought,  as  if 
in  the  very  nature  of  sensation,  the  moment  it  becomes  com¬ 
bined  with  an  intellectual  operation,  as  exemplified  in  the  differ¬ 
ence  between  the  intellectual  conception  of  beauty,  and  the 
mere  perception  of  sense.  The  grouping  of  the  hills  that  bound 
that  magnificent  valley  which  I  behold  at  this  moment  spread 
out  before  my  view ;  the  shadow  of  the  trees  at  the  base  of 
some  of  them,  stretching  its  deep  and  varied  outline  up  the 
sides  of  others ;  the  glancing  light  now  brightening  a  hundred 
different  hues  of  green  on  the  broad  meadows,  and  now  dancing 
on  the  upland  fallows  ;  the  ever-moving,  ever-changing  clouds ; 
the  scented  air  ;  the  song  of  birds  ;  the  still  more  touching 
music  which  the  breeze  awakens  in  the  scarcely-trembling 
branches  of  those  pine-trees, — the  elements  of  which  this  scene 
is  composed,  the  mere  objects  of  sense,  the  sun,  the  sky,  the  air, 
the  hills,  the  woods,  and  the  sounds  poured  out  from  them,  im¬ 
press  the  senses  of  the  animals  that  graze  in  the  midst  of  them  ; 
but  on  their  senses  they  fall  dull  and  emotionless,  exciting  no 
perception  of  their  loveliness,  and  giving  no  taste  of  the  pleasures 
they  are  capable  of  affording.  Nor  even  in  the  human  being, 
whose  intellectual  faculties  have  been  uncultivated,  do  they 
awaken  either  emotions  or  ideas  ;  the  clown  sees  them,  hears 
them,  feels  them  scarcely  more  than  the  herds  he  tends :  yet  in 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


265 


him  whose  mind  has  been  cultivated  and  unfolded,  how  numerous 
and  varied  the  impressions,  how  manifold  the  combinations,  how 
exquisite  the  pleasures  they  produce ! 

And  from  the  more  purely  intellectual  operations,  from 
memory,  comparison,  analysis,  combination,  classification,  in¬ 
duction,  how  still  nobler  the  pleasure !  Not  to  speak  of  the 
happiness  of  him  who,  by  his  study  of  natural  phenomena,  at 
length  arrived  at  the  stupendous  discovery  that  the  earth  and 
all  the  stars  of  the  firmament  move,  and  that  the  feather  falls  to 
the  ground,  by  the  operation  of  one  and  the  same  physical  law; 
nor  of  the  happiness  of  him  who  sent  his  kite  into  the  cloud,  and 
brought  down  from  its  quiet  bed  the  lightning  which  he  sus¬ 
pected  was  slumbering  there  ;  nor  of  the  happiness  of  him  who 
concentrated,  directed,  and  controlled  that  mighty  power  which 
has  enabled  the  feeble  hand  of  man  to  accomplish  works  greater 
than  have  been  feigned  of  fabled  giant ;  which  has  annihilated 
distance  ;  created,  by  economising,  time  ;  changed  in  the  short 
space  in  which  it  has  been  in  operation  the  surface  of  the  habit¬ 
able  globe  ;  and  is  destined  to  work  upon  it  more  and  greater 
changes  than  have  been  effected  by  all  other  causes  combined  ; 
nor  of  the  happiness  of  him  who  devoted  a  longer  life  with  equal 
success  to  a  nobler  labour,  that  of  rearing  the  fabric  of 
FELICITY  BY  THE  HAND  OF  REASON  AND  OF  LAW.  The  intellect¬ 
ual  pleasures  of  such  men  as  Newton,  Franklin,  AVatt,  and 
Bentham,  can  be  equalled  only  by  those  who  possess  equal  in¬ 
tellectual  power,  and  who  put  forth  equal  intellectual  energy : 
to  be  greatly  happy,  as  they  were,  it  were  necessary  to  be  as 
highly  endowed  ;  but  to  be  happy,  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  so 
endowed.  In  the  ordinary  intellectual  operations  of  ordinary 
men,  in  their  ordinary  occupations,  there  is  happiness.  Every 
human  being  whose  moments  have  passed  with  winged  speed, 
whose  day  has  been  short,  ivhose  year  is  gone  almost  as  soon  as 
it  seemed  commenced,  has  derived  from  the  exercise  of  his  in¬ 
tellectual  faculties  pleasures  countless  in  number  and  inestim¬ 
able  in  value. 

But  the  sympathetic  pleasures,  out  of  which  grow  the  social, 
are  of  a  still  higher  order  even  than  the  intellectual.  The 
pleasures  that  result  from  the  action  of  the  organic  organs,  from 
the  exercise  of  the  several  senses,  and  from  the  operation  of  the 

intellectual  faculties,  like  the  sensations  in  which  they  arise, 

.  .  * 

belong  exclusively  to  the  individual  being  that  experiences  them, 
and  cannot  be  communicated  to  another.  Similar  sensations  and 
pleasures  may  be  felt  by  beings  similarly  constituted  ;  but  the 
actual  sensations  and  pleasures  afforded  by  the  exercise  of  a 
person’s  own  organs  and  faculties,  are  no  more  capable  of  be¬ 
coming  another’s  than  his  existence.  These,  then,  are  strictly 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


2n  'y 

o  o 

the  selfish  pleasures  ;  and  the  provision  that  has  been  made  for 
securing  them  has  been  shown. 

But  there  are  pleasures  of  another  class,  pleasures  having  no 
relation  whatever  to  a  person’s  own  sensation  or  happiness  ; 
pleasures  springing  from  the  perception  of  the  enjoyment  of 
others.  The  sight  of  pleasure  not  its  own  affects  the  human 
heart,  provided  its  state  of  feeling  he  natural  and  sound,  just  as 
it  would  he  affected  were  it  its  own.  Not  more  real  is  the 
pleasure  arising  from  the  gratification  of  appetite,  the  exercise 
of  sense,  and  the  operation  of  intellect,  than  that  arising  from 
the  consciousness  that  another  sentient  being  is  happy.  Pleasures 
of  this  class  are  called  sympathetic,  in  contradistinction  to  those 
of  the  former  class,  which  are  termed  selfish. 

There  are  then  two  principles  in  continual  operation  in  the 
human  being,  the  selfish  and  the  sympathetic.  The  selfish  is 
productive  of  pleasure  of  a  certain  kind  ;  the  sympathetic  is  pro¬ 
ductive  of  pleasure  of  another  kind.  The  selfish  is  primary  and 
essential ;  the  sympathetic,  arising  out  of  the  selfish,  is  super- 
added  to  it.  And  so  precisely  what  the  animal  life  is  to  the 
organic,  the  sympathetic  principle  is  to  the  selfish  ;  and  just 
what  the  organic  life  gains  by  its  union  with  the  animal,  the 
mental  constitution  gains  by  the  addition  of  the  sympathetic 
to  the  selfish  affection.  The  analogy  between  the  combination 
in  both  cases  is  in  every  respect  complete.  As  the  organic  life 
produces  and  sustains  the  animal,  so  the  sympathetic  principle 
is  produced  and  sustained  by  the  selfish.  As  the  organic  life  is 
conservative  of  the  entire  organization  of  the  body,  so  the  selfish 
principle  is  conservative  of  the  entire  being.  As  the  animal  life 
is  superadded  to  the  organic,  extending,  exalting,  and  perfecting 
it,  so  the  sympathetic  principle  is  superadded  to  the  selfish, 
.equally  extending,  exalting,  and  perfecting  it.  The  animal  life 
is  nobler  than  the  organic,  whence  the  organic  is  subservient  to 
the  animal ;  but  there  is  not  only  no  opposition,  hostility,  or 
antagonism  between  them,  but  the  strictest  possible  connection, 
dependence,  and  subservience.  The  sympathetic  principle  is 
nobler  than  the  selfish,  whence  the  selfish  is  subservient  to  the 
sympathetic  ;  but  there  is  not  only  no  opposition,  hostility,  or 
antagonism  between  them,  but  the  strictest  possible  connection, 
dependence,  and  subservience.  Whatever  is  conducive  to  the 
perfection  of  the  organic,  is  equally  conducive  to  the  perfection 
of  the  animal  life  ;  and  whatever  is  conducive  to  the  attainment 
of  the  true  end  of  the  selfish,  is  equally  conducive  to  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  the  true  end  of  the  sympathetic  principle.  The  perfec¬ 
tion  of  the  animal  life  cannot  be  promoted  at  the  expense  of  the 
organic,  nor  that  of  the  organic  at  the  expense  of  the  animal ; 
neither  can  the  ultimate  end  of  the  selfish  principle  be  secured 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


267 


by  the  sacrifice  of  the  sympathetic,  nor  that  of  the  sympathetic 
by  the  sacrifice  of  the  selfish.  Any  attempt  to  exalt  the  animal 
life  beyond  what  is  compatible  with  the  healthy  state  of  the 
organic,  instead  of  accomplishing  that  end,  only  produces  bodily 
disease.  Any  attempt  to  extend  the  selfish  principle  beyond 
what  is  compatible  with  the  perfection  of  the  sympathetic,  or  the 
sympathetic  beyond  what  is  compatible  with  the  perfection  of  the 
selfish,  instead  of  accomplishing  the  end  in  view,  only  produces 
mental  disease.  Opposing  and  jarring  actions,  antagonizing  and 
mutually  destructive  powers,  are  combined  in  no  other  work  of 
nature  ;  and  it  would  be  wonderful  indeed  were  the  only 
instance  of  it  found  in  man,  the  noblest  of  her  works,  and  in  the 
mind  of  man,  the  noblest  part  of  her  noblest  work. 

A o  one  supposes  that  there  is  any  such  inharmonious  combin¬ 
ation  in  the  organization  of  his  physical  frame,  and  the  notion 
that  it  exists  in  his  mental  constitution,  as  it  is  founded  in 
ignorance,  so  it  is  productive  of  mischief.  In  both,  indeed,  are 
manifest  two  great  powers,  each  distinct ;  each  having  its  own 
peculiar  operation ;  and  the  one  being  subservient  to  the  other, 
but  both  conducing  alike  to  one  common  end.  By  the  addition 
of  the  apparatus  of  the  animal  to  that  of  the  organic  life,  a  nobler 
structure  is  built  up  than  could  have  been  framed  by  the  organic 
alone  :  by  the  addition  of  the  sympathetic  to  the  selfish  part  of 
the  mental  constitution,  a  happier  being  is  formed  than  could 
have  been  produced  by  the  selfish  alone.  And  as  the  organic 
might  have  existed  without  the  animal  life,  but  by  the  addition 
of  the  animal  a  new  and  superior  being  is  formed,  so  might  the 
selfish  part  of  the  mental  constitution,  and  the  pleasures  that 
flow  from  it,  have  existed  alone ;  but  by  the  addition  of  the 
sympathetic,  a  sum  is  added  to  enjoyment,  of  the  amount  of 
which  some  conception  may  be  formed  by  considering  what 
human  life  would  be,  with  every  selfish  appetite  and  faculty 
gratified  in  the  fullest  conceivable  degree,  but  without  any  ad¬ 
mixture  whatever  of  sympathetic  or  social  pleasure.  Selfish 
enjoyment  is  not  common.  If  any  one  set  himself  to  examine 
what  at  first  view  might  seem  a  purely  selfish  pleasure,  he  will 
soon  be  sensible  that,  of  the  elements  composing  any  given  state 
of  mind  to  which  he  would  be  willing  to  affix  the  term  pleasur¬ 
able,  a  vast  preponderance  consists  of  sympathetic  associations. 
The  more  accurately  he  examine,  and  the  farther  he  carry  his 
analysis,  the  stronger  will  become  his  conviction,  that  a  purely 
selfish  enjoyment,  that  is,  a  truly  pleasurable  state  of  mind, 
in  no  degree,  mediately  or  immediately,  connected  with  the 
pleasurable  state  of  another  mind,  is  exceedingly  rare. 

But  if  the  constitution  of  human  nature  and  the  structure  of 
human  society  alike  render  it  difficult  for  the  human  heart  to  be 


268  APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 

affected  with  a  pleasure  in  no  degree  derived  from — absolutely 
and  totally  unconnected  with — sympathetic  association,  of  that 
complex  pleasure  which  arises  out  of  social  intercourse,  partly 
selfish  and  partly  sympathetic,  how  far  sweeter  the  sympathetic 
than  the  selfish  ;  and  as  the  sympathetic  preponderates  over  the 
selfish,  how  vast  the  increase  of  the  pleasure !  And  when 
matured,  exalted  into  affection — affection,  that  holy  emotion 
which  exerts  a  transforming  influence  over  the  selfish  part  of 
human  nature,  turning  it  iuto  the  sympathetic  ;  affection,  which 
renders  the  happiness  of  the  beloved  object  dearer  to  the  heart 
than  its  own ;  affection,  among  the  benignant  feelings  of  which 
as  there  is  none  sweeter  so  there  is  none  stronger  than  that  of 
self-devotion,  nay,  sometimes  even  of  self-sacrifice ;  affection, 
which  is  sympathy  pure,  concentrated,  intense — Oh  how  beauti¬ 
ful 'is  the  constitution  of  this  part  of  our  nature,  by  which  the 
most  transporting  pleasures  the  heart  receives  are  the  direct  re¬ 
flection  of  those  it  gives  ! 

Nor  ought  it  to  be  overlooked,  that,  while  nearly  all  the  selfish, 
like  all  the  sensual  pleasures,  cannot  be  increased  beyond  a  fixed 
limit,  cannot  be  protracted  beyond  a  given  time,  are  short-lived 
in  proportion  as  they  are  intense,  and  satiate  the  appetite  they 
gratify,  the  sympathetic  pleasures  are  capable  of  indefinite 
augmentation  ;  are  absolutely  inexhaustible  ;  no  limit  can  be 
set  to  their  number,  and  no  bound  to  their  growth  ;  they  excite 
the  appetite  they  gratify  ;  they  multiply  with  and  by  participa¬ 
tion,  and  the  more  is  taken  from  the  fountain  from  which  they 
flow,  the  deeper,  the  broader,  and  the  fuller  the  fountain  itself 
becomes. 

But  not  only  is  the  mental  state  of  affection  in  all  its  forms 
and  degrees  highly  pleasurable,  but  the  very  consciousness  of 
being  the  object  of  affection  is  another  pleasure  perfectly  distinct 
from  that  arising  immediately  from  the  affection  itself.  It  has 
been  said  of  charity,  that  it  is  twice  blessed,  that  it  blesses  alike 
him  that  gives  and  him  that  receives  ;  but  love  has  in  it  a  three¬ 
fold  blessing:  first,  in  the  mental  state  itself  ;  secondly,  in  the 
like  mental  state  which  the  manifestation  of  it  produces  in 
another ;  and  thirdly,  in  the  mental  state  inseparable  from  the 
consciousness  of  being  the  object  of  affection.  And  this  reflex 
happiness,  this  happiness  arising  from  the  consciousness  of  being 
the  object,  is  even  sweeter  than  any  connected  with  being  the 
subject  of  affection. 

In  like  manner  there  is  pleasure  in  the  performance  of  benefi¬ 
cent  actions  ;  in  energetic,  constant,  and  therefore  ultimately 
successful  exertions  to  advance  the  great  interests  of  human 
kind,  in  art,  in  science,  in  philosophy,  in  education,  in  morals, 
in  legislation,  in  government ;  whether  those  exertions  are  put 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


269 


forth  in  the  study,  the  school,  the  senate,  or  any  less  observed 
though  perhaps  not  less  arduous  nor  less  important  field  of 
labour.  Exertions  of  this  kind  beget  in  those  for  whom,  toyvards 
those  by  whom,  they  are  made,  benignant  feelings — respect, 
veneration,  gratitude,  love.  With  such  feelings  the  philosopher, 
the  instructor,  the  legislator,  the  statesman,  the  philanthropist, 
knows  that  he  is,  or  that,  sooner  or  later,  he  will  be  regarded  by 
his  fellow-men  ;  and  in  this  consciousness  there  is  happiness : 
but  this  is  another  source  of  happiness  perfectly  distinct  from 
that  arising  from  the  performance  of  beneficent  actions  ;  it  is  a 
new  happiness  superadded  to  the  former,  and,  if  possible,  still 
more  exquisite.  Thus  manifold  is  the  beneficent  operation  of  the 
sympathetic  affection :  thus  admirable  is  the  provision  made  in 
the  constitution  of  our  nature  for  the  excitement  and  extension 
of  this  affection,  and,  through  its  instrumentality,  for  the  multi¬ 
plication  and  exaltation  of  enjoyment ! 

In  affections  and  actions  of  this  class,  and  in  the  pleasures 
that  result  from  them,  there  is  much  of  the  nature  which  is 
commonly  termed  moral.  The  moral  faculty  is  the  power  to 
regulate  voluntary  conduct  by  a  prescribed  rule,  from  a  given 
motive.  The  rule  is  the  moral  code,  whatever  that  may  be ;  the 
motive  is  that  which  induces  obedience  to  the  rule,  as  praise  or 
blame,  reward  or  punishment.  On  the  power  thus  to  regulate 
his  conduct,  a  power  possessed  by  no  other  creature  but  man,  are 
based  law  and  government.  It  is  by  the  operation  of  this  power 
that  he  is  capable  of  obedience  to  law,  and  that  he  can  become 
the  subject  of  government.  This  power  of  his  nature  is  higher 
than  any  of  the  preceding,  for  it  is  their  regulator  and  guide  ; 
it  is  that  by  which  they  attain  their  proper  and  ultimate  object. 

Of  whatever  pleasure  human  nature  is  capable  in  sensation,  in 
idea,  in  appetite,  in  passion,  in  emotion,  in  affection,  in  action; 
whatever  is  productive  of  real  pleasure,  in  contradistinction  to 
what  only  cheats  with  the  false  hope  of  pleasure  ;  whatever  is 
productive  of  pure  pleasure,  in  contradistinction  to  what  is  pro¬ 
ductive  partly  of  pleasure  and  partly  of  pain,  and  consequently 
productive  not  of  pure,  but  of  mixed  pleasure  ;  whatever  is  pro¬ 
ductive  of  a  great  degree  of  pleasure  in  contradistinction  to  what 
is  productive  of  a  small  degree  of  pleasure  ;  whatever  is  pro¬ 
ductive  of  lasting  pleasure,  in  contradistinction  to  what  is  pro¬ 
ductive  of  temporary  pleasure  ;  whatever  is  productive  of  ulti¬ 
mate  pleasure,  in  contradistinction  to  what  is  productive  of 
immediate  pleasure,  but  ultimate  pain  ;  this  greatest  and  most 
perfect  pleasure  it  is  the  part  of  the  moral  faculty  to  discover. 
In  the  degree  in  which  the  operation  of  this  faculty  is  correct 
and  complete,  it  enables  the  human  being  to  derive  from  every 
faculty  of  his  nature  the  greatest,  the  purest,  the  most  enduring 


270 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


pleasure ;  that  is,  the  maximum  of  felicity.  This  is  the  proper 
scope  and  aim  of  the  moral  faculty  ;  to  this  its  right  exercise  is 
uniformly  conducive  ;  and  this,  as  it  is  better  cultivated  and 
directed,  it  will  accomplish  in  a  higher  degree,  in  a  continual 
progression,  to  which  no  limit  can  be  assigned. 

But  if  the  proper  operation  of  this  faculty  be  to  render  every 
other  in  the  highest  degree  conducive  to  happiness,  conformity 
to  the  course  of  conduct  required  by  it,  must  be  the  highest 
happiness.  Conformity  to  the  course  of  conduct  pointed  out 
bv  the  moral  faculty  as  conducive  in  the  highest  degree  to 
happiness,  is  moral  excellence,  or,  in  the  definite  and  exact  sense 
of  the  word,  virtue.  And  in  this  sense  it  is  that  virtue  is  happi¬ 
ness.  It  is  because  it  discriminates  the  true  sources  of  happi¬ 
ness,  that  is,  directs  every  other  faculty  into  its  proper  course, 
and  guides  it  in  that  course  to  the  attainment  of  its  ultimate 
object,  that  the  moral  faculty  takes  the  high  place  it  does  among 
the  faculties  of  the  human  mind.  Supposing  the  operation  of 
this  faculty  to  be  perfect,  it  is  but  an  identical  expression  to 
say,  that  to  follow  its  guidance  implicitly  is  to  follow  the  road 
that  leads  to  the  most  perfect  happiness. 

But  there  is  another  faculty  which  is  as  truly  a  part  of  the 
human  mind  as  the  moral  faculty,  and  to  the  possession  of  which 
there  is  nothing  in  the  slightest  degree  analogous  in  any  other 
creature  known  to  us.  It  is  impossible  for  the  human  mind  not 
to  infer  the  existence  of  a  Creator  from  the  study  of  the  creation. 
It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  the  attributes  of  the  Creator, 
such  attributes  at  least  as  those  ascribed  to  Him  by  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Bevelation,  without  reverence,  trust,  and  love.  But  the 
ascription  of  such  attributes  to  the  Creator,  the  feeling  of  rever¬ 
ence,  trust,  and  love  towards  Him,  and  the  desire  and  endeavour 
to  conform  in  heart  and  life  to  His  law,  as  far  as  His  will  is 
known,  is  religion.  And  the  exercise  of  the  religious  faculty, 
under  the  true  and  enlightened  guidance  of  the  Christian  Be¬ 
velation,  is  at  once  man’s  greatest  privilege,  and  includes  the 
highest  happiness  of  which  his  nature  is  susceptible. 

Thus  manifest  it  is,  from  every  view  that  can  be  taken  of  the 
constitution  of  human  nature,  that  every  faculty  with  which  it 
is  endowed,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  not  only  affords  its 
own  proper  and  peculiar  pleasure,  but  that  each,  as  it  success¬ 
ively  rises  in  the  scale,  is  proportionately  the  source  of  a  nobler 
kind,  and  a  larger  amount  of  enjoyment. 

And  the  pleasure  thus  afforded  by  the  various  faculties  with 
which  the  human  being  is  endowed  is  the  immediate  and  direct 
result  of  their  exercise.  "With  the  exception  of  the  organic 
organs,  and  the  reason  for  the  exception  in  regard  to  them  has 
been  assigned,  the  action  of  the  organs  is  directly  pleasurable. 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


0-1 

LJ  I  L 

From  the  exercise  of  the  organs  of  sense,  from  the  operation  of 
the  intellectual  faculties,  from  appetite,  passion,  and  affection, 
pleasure  flows  as  directly  as  the  object  for  which  the  instrument 
is  expressly  framed. 

Aud  pleasure  is  the  ordinary  result  of  the  action  of  the 
organs  ;  pain  is  sometimes  the  result,  but  it  is  the  extraordinary, 
not  the  ordinary  result.  Whatever  may  be  the  degree  of  pain 
occasionally  produced,  or  however  protracted  its  duration,  yet 
it  is  never  the  natural,  that  is,  the  usual  or  permanent  state, 
either  of  a  single  organ,  or  of  an  apparatus,  or  of  the  system. 
The  usual,  the  permanent,  the  natural  condition  of  each  organ, 
and  of  the  entire  system,  is  pleasurable.  Abstracting,  there¬ 
fore,  from  the  aggregate  amount  of  pleasure,  the  aggregate 
amount  of  pain,  the  balance  in  favour  of  pleasure  is  immense. 
This  is  true  of  the  ordinary  experience  of  ordinary  men,  even 
taking  their  physical  and  mental  states  such  as  they  are  at  pre¬ 
sent  ;  but  the  ordinary  physical  and  mental  states,  considered  as 
sources  of  pleasure  of  every  human  being,  might  be  prodigiously 
improved  ;  and  some  attempt  will  be  made,  in  a  subsequent  part 
of  this  work,  to  show  in  what  maimer  and  to  what  extent. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  there  are  cases  in  which 
pleasure  is  manifestly  given  for  its  own  sake ;  in  which  it  is 
rested  in  as  an  ultimate  object:  but  the  converse  is  never  found  . 
in  no  case  is  the  excitement  of  pain  gratuitous.  Among  all  the 
examples  of  secretion,  there  is  no  instance  of  a  fluid,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  irritate  and  inflame  :  among  all  the  actions  of  the  eco¬ 
nomy,  there  is  none,  the  object  of  which  is  the  production  of  pain. 

Moreover,  as  already  stated,  all  such  action  of  the  organs  as 
is  productive  of  pleasure,  is  conducive  to  their  complete  develop¬ 
ment,  and  consequently  to  the  increase  of  their  capacity  for  pro¬ 
ducing  pleasure  ;  while  all  such  action  of  the  organs  as  is  pro¬ 
ductive  of  pain  is  preventive  of  their  complete  development,  and 
consequently  diminishes  their  capacity  for  producing  pain.  The 
natural  tendency  of  pleasure  is  to  its  own  augmentation  and 
perpetuity.  Pain,  on  the  contrary,  is  self-destructive. 

Special  provision  is  made  in  the  economy  for  preventing  pain 
from  passing  beyond  a  certain  limit,  and  from  enduring  beyond 
a  certain  time.  Pain,  when  it  reaches  a  certain  intensity, 
deadens  the  sensibility  of  the  sentient  nerve ;  and  when  it  lasts 
beyond  a  certain  time,  it  excites  new  actions  in  the  organ 
affected,  by  which  the  organ  is  either  restored  to  a  sound  state, 
or  so  changed  in  structure  that  its  function  is  wholly  abolished. 
But  change  of  structure  and  abolition  of  function,  if  extensive 
and  permanent,  are  incompatible  with  the  continuance  of  life. 
If,  then,  the  actions  of  the  economy,  excited  by  pain,  fail  to  put 
an  end  to  suffering,  by  restoring  the  diseased  organ  to  a  healthy 


272 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


state,  they  succeed  in  putting  an  end  to  it  by  terminating  life. 
Pain,  therefore,  cannot  be  so  severe  and  lasting  as  materially  to  pre¬ 
ponderate  over  pleasure,  without  soon  proving  destructive  to  life. 

But  the  very  reverse  is  the  case  with  pleasure.  All  such  action  of 
the  organs  as  is  productive  of  pleasure  is  conducive  to  the  per¬ 
petuation  of  life.  There  is  a  close  connection  between  happiness 
and  longevity.  Enjoyment  is  not  only  the  end  of  life,  but  it  is  the 
only  condition  of  life  which  is  compatible  with  a  protracted  term 
of  existence.  As  a  rule,  the  happier  a  human  being  is,  the  longer 
he  lives  ;  the  more  he  suffers,  the  sooner  he  dies  ;  to  add  to 
enjoyment,  is  to  lengthen  life  ;  to  inflict  pain,  is  to  shorten  the 
duration  of  existence.  As  there  is  a  point  of  wretchedness 
beyond  which  life  is  not  desirable,  so  there  is  a  point  beyond 
which  it  is  not  maintainable.  The  man  who  has  reached  an 
advanced  age  cannot  have  been,  upon  the  whole,  an  unhappy 
being ;  for  the  infirmity  and  suffering  which  embitter  life  cut  it 
short.  Everv  document  by  which  the  rate  of  mortality  amons: 

ft/  ft  ft  CO 

large  numbers  of  human  beings  can  be  correctlv  ascertained  con- 
tains  in  it  irresistible  evidence  of  this  truth.  In  every  country 
the  average  duration  of  life,  whether  for  the  whole  people  or  for 
particular  classes,  is  invariably  in  the  direct  ratio  of  their  means 
of  felicitv  :  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  number  of  vears  which 
large  portions  of  the  population  survive  beyond  the  adult  age 
may  be  taken  as  a  certain  test  of  the  happiness  of  the  com¬ 
munity.  How  clear  must  have  been  the  perception  of  this  in 
the  mind  of  the  Jewish  legislator  when  he  made  the  promise, 

THAT  THY  DAYS  WAY  BE  LONG  IN  THE  LAND  WHICH  THE  LOBD 

thy  God  hath  giyen  thee — the  sanction  of  every  religious 
observance,  and  the  motive  to  every  moral  duty  ! 

Deeply,  then,  are  laid  the  fountains  of  happiness  in  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  human  nature.  They  spring  from  the  depths  of 
man’s  physical  organization  ;  and  from  the  wider  range  of  his 
mental  constitution  they  flow  in  streams  magnificent  and 
glorious.  It  is  conceivable  that  from  the  first  to  the  last 
moment  of  his  existence,  every  human  being  might  drink  of 
them  to  the  full  exteut  of  his  capacity.  Why  does  he  not  ? 
The  answer  will  be  found  in  that  to  the  following  question. 
What  must  happen  before  this  be  possible  ?  The  attainment  of 
clear  and  just  conceptions  on  subjects,  in  relation  to  which  the 
knowledge  hitherto  acquired  by  the  most  enlightened  men  is 
imperfect.  Physical  nature,  every  department  of  it,  at  least, 
which  is  capable  of  influencing  human  existence  and  human 
sensation  ;  human  nature,  both  the  physical  and  the  mental  part 
of  it ;  institutions  so  adapted  to  that  nature  as  to  be  capable  of 
securing  to  every  individual,  and  to  the  whole  community,  the 
maximum  of  happiness  with  the  minimum  of  suffering — this 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


273 


must  be  known.  But  knowledge  of  this  kind  is  of  slow  growth. 
To  expect  the  possession  of  it  on  the  part  of  any  man  in  such  a 
stage  of  civilization  as  the  present,  is  to  suppose  a  phenomenon 
to  which  there  is  nothing  analogous  in  the  history  of  the  human 
mind.  The  human  mind  is  equally  incapable  of  making  a  violent 
discovery  in  any  department  of  knowledge,  and  of  taking  a  violent 
bound  in  any  path  of  improvement.  What  we  call  discoveries 
and  improvements  are  clear,  decided,  but  for  the  most  part 
gentle,  steps  in  advancement  of  the  actual  and  immediately-pre¬ 
ceding  state  of  knowledge.  The  human  mind  unravels  the  great 
chain  of  knowledge,  link  by  link  ;  when  it  is  no  longer  able  to 
trace  the  connecting  link,  it  is  at  a  stand  ;  the  discoverer,  in 
common  with  his  contemporaries,  seeing  the  last  ascertained 
link,  and  from  that  led  on  by  analogies  which  are  not  perceived 
by,  or  which  do  not  impress  others,,  at  length  descries  the  next 
in  succession  ;  this  brings  into  view  new  analogies,  and  so  prepares 
the  way  for  the  discernment  of  another  link  ;  this  again  elicits 
other  analogies  which  lead  to  the  detection  of  other  links,  and  so 
the  chain  is  lengthened.  And  no  link,  once  made  out,  is  lost. 

Chemists  tell  us  that  the  adjustment  of  the  component  elements 
of  water  is  such,  that  although  they  readily  admit  of  separation, 
and  are  subservient  to  their  most  important  uses  in  the  economy 
of  nature  by  this  very  facility  of  decomposition,  yet  that  their 
tendency  to  recombination  is  equal,  so  that  the  quantity  of  water 
actually  existing  at  this  present  moment  in  the  globe  is  just  the 
same  as  on  the  first  day  of  the  creation,  neither  the  operations 
of  nature,  nor  the  purposes  to  which  it  has  been  applied  by  man, 
having  used  up,  in  the  sense  of  destroying,  a  single  particle  of 
it.  Alike  indestructible  are  the  separate  truths  that  make  up 
the  great  mass  of  human  knowledge.  In  their  ready  divisibility 
and  their  manifold  applications,  some  of  them  may  sometimes 
seem  to  be  lost ;  but  if  they  disappear,  it  is  only  to  enter  into 
new  combinations,  many  of  which  themselves  become  new 
truths,  and  so  ultimately  extend  the  boundaries  of  knowledge. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  case  in  time  past,  when  the  loss  of 
an  important  truth,  satisfactorily  and  practically  established, 
may  be  supposed  possible,  such  an  event  is  inconceivable  now 
when  the  art  of  printing  at  once  multiplies  a  thousand  records 
of  it,  and,  with  astonishing  rapidity,  makes  it  part  and  parcel  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  minds.  A  thought  more  full  of 
encouragement  to  those  who  labour  for  the  improvement  of  their 
fellow-beings  there  cannot  be.  Is  o  onward  step  is  lost ;  no  on¬ 
ward  step  is  final ;  every  such  step  facilitates  and  secures  another. 
The  savage  state,  that  state  in  which  gross  selfishness  seeks  its 
object  simply  and  directly  by  violence,  is  past.  The  semi-savage 
or  barbarous  state,  in  which  the  grossness  of  the  selfishness  is 
somewhat  abated,  and  the  violence  by  which  it  seeks  its  object 


274 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


in  some  degree  mitigated,  by  the  higher  faculties  and  the  gentler 
affections  of  our  nature,  hut  in  which  war  still  predominates,  is 
also  past.  To  this  has  succeeded  the  state  in  which  we  are  at 
present,  the  so-called  civilized  state — a  state  in  which  the  selfish 
principle  still  predominates,  in  which  the  justifiableness  of  seek¬ 
ing  the  accomplishment  of  selfish  purposes  by  means  of  violence, 
that  of  war  among  the  rest,  is  still  recognized,  but  in  which 
violence  is  not  the  ordinary  instrument  employed  by  selfishness, 
its  ends  being  commonly  accomplished  by  the  more  silent,  steady, 
and  permanent  operation  of  institutions.  This  state,  like  the  pre¬ 
ceding,  will  pass  away.  How  soon,  in  what  precise  mode,  by 
what  immediate  agency,  none  can  tell.  But  we  are  already  in 
possession  of  the  principle  which  will  destroy  the  present  and 
introduce  a  better  social  condition,  namely,  the  principle  at  the 
basis  of  the  social  union,  the  maximum  of  the  aggregate  of 

HAPPINESS  ;  THE  MAXIMUM  OF  THE  AGGREGATE  OF  HAPPINESS 
SOUGHT  BY  THE  PROMOTION  OF  THE  MAXIMUM  OF  INDIVIDUAL 
HAPPINESS  ! 


NOTE  B. 

It  may  be  a  comfort  to  those  to  whom  certain  texts  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  seem  to  present  a  formidable  mass  of  evidence  in  favour  of 
the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment,  to  know  that  the  greater 
number  of  these,  and  those  the  most  important,  are  not  authentic. 

A  manuscript,  the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  has  recently  been  found, 
which  has  opened  new  views  on  this  whole  subject.  On  com¬ 
paring  with  the  authorized  version  this  newly-discovered  manu¬ 
script  we  find  that  many  passages  relied  upon  as  implying  the 
penal  character  and  infinite  duration  of  punishment  have  in  it 
no  existence.  The  absence  of  such  in  a  manuscript  the  great 
antiquity  and  pre-eminent  authority  of  which  are  conceded  by 
the  most  reliable  biblical  critics,  is  a  striking  fact. 

Many  texts  and  indeed  whole  passages  of  a  similar  nature  lose 
their  weight  in  consequence  of  another  discovery  which  we  owe 
to  modern  research.  It  has  been  proved  that  a  great  number  of 
them  are  taken  from  the  Book  of  Enoch,  a  book  not  now  even 
placed  among  the  apocryphal  writings,  and  known  to  have  made 
its  first  appearance  about  70  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 
This  book  addressed  itself,  however,  so  skilfully  to  Jewish  pre¬ 
judices,  hopes,  and  fears,  that  it  was  accepted  by  Jude,  who  in  his 
G-eneral  Epistle  (ver.  14,  15)  quotes  it  verbatim  (Enoch,  chapter 
2),  as  Scriptural  and  authoritative,  speaking  of  it  as  containing 
the  “  Prophecies  of  Enoch  the  Seventh  from  Adam,”  and  that 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


2  75 


it  •was  currently  quoted  by  the  Fathers  down  to  and  inclusive 
of  Augustine  and  Jerome.  It  was  so  valued  as  to  have  been 
translated  from  the  Greek  into  the  Ethiopic  dialect,  and  it  was, 
in  the  age  in  which  it  appeared,  and  that  shortly  preceding  the 
Christian  advent,  received  and  read  with  eager  interest  and  im¬ 
plicit  acceptance  by  the  Jewish  nation.  This  extravagant  book, 
*  though  now  admitted  to  be  spurious,  was  well  devised  to  serve 
its  purpose  of  reviving  the  nationality  and  spiritual  enthusiasm 
of  the  Hebrew  people.  But  it  has  had  a  more  lasting  influence 
than  this,  since  it  contains  the  germs,  often  the  fully  formed  fruit 
of  orthodox  opinion  on  the  subject  of  eternal  punishment.  The 
passages  in  the  Canon  referring  to  eternal  salvation  and  re¬ 
probation  are  copied  almost  verbatim  from  this  book.  “  It  gives,” 
observes  Dr  Kalisck,  “  a  clear  picture  of  the  Sclieol  (place  of  de¬ 
parted  spirits),  its  different  divisions,  and  the  preliminary  judg¬ 
ment  there  held ;  of  the  hell  (gehenna)  where  the  wicked  are 
doomed  to  receive  their  punishments  ;■  of  the  place  where  the 
fallen  angels  and  contumacious  powers  of  nature  are  fettered.” 
It  describes,  “  in  full  outline,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and 
the  Messianic  judgment  over  the  dead  and  living.  It  represents 
the  Messiah  not  only  as  the  king  but  as  the  judge  of  the  world, 
who  has  the  decision  over  everything  on  earth  and  in  heaven. 
In  the  Messiah  is  the  Son  of  Man,  who  possesses  righteousness 
since  the  God  of  all  spirits  has  elected  him,  and  since  he  has 
conquered  all  by  righteousness  in  eternity,  but  he  is  also  the 
‘  Son  of  God,’  the  elected  one,  the  Spirit  in  all  its  fulness 
is  poured  out  upon  him,  he  shares  the  throne  of  God's  ma¬ 
jesty  ;  he  pre-existed  before  all  time,  before  the  creation  of 
the  world  was  he  elected,  revealed  to  the  pious  by  prophecy  and 
praised  by  the  angels  in  heaven.”  “Here,”  says  an  eminent 
writer  (Hational  Be  view,  Ho.  36), we  find,  a  century  before  the 
first  line  of  the  Hew  Testament  was  written,  all  the  chief  features 
of  its  doctrine  respecting  ‘the  end  of  the  world,’  and  ‘  the  com¬ 
ing  of  the  Son  of  Man  !’  the  same  theatre — Jerusalem  ;  the  same 
time  relating  to  the  writer — the  immediate  generation,  the  hour 
at  hand  ;  the  same  harbingers — wars  and  rumours  of  wars,  and  the 
gathering  of  Gentile  armies  against  the  elect ;  the  same  deliver¬ 
ance  for  the  elect — the  advent  of  the  Messiah  with  the  holv 
angels ;  the  same  decisive  solemnity — the  Son  of  Man,  and  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  with  all  nations  gathered  before  him ;  the 
same  award — unbelievers  to  a  pit  of  fire  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom, 
and  the  elect  to  the  halls  of  the  kino-dom  to  eat  and  drink  at 

O 

Messiah’s  table  ;  the  same  accession  to  the  society,  by  the  first 
resurrection  sending  up  from  Hades  the  souls  of  the  pious  dead.” 
“  Here,  in  a  book  to  which  the  Hew  Testament  itself  appeals, 
we  have  the  very  drama  of  ‘  last  things  ’  which  reappears  in  the 
Book  of  Bevelations  and  in  portions  of  the  Gospels.” 


276 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


Manifestly,  indisputably,  then,  the  doctrine  of  eternal  election 
and  reprobation  had  not  its  origin  in  the  New  Testament,  and  is 
not  peculiar  to  the  Christian  dispensation.  It  is  the  invention 
of  an  ante-apostolic  writer.  The  passages  in  our  Scriptures 
therefore,  which  are  supposed  to  declare  the  eternity  of  hell-tor¬ 
ments,  for  the  most  part,  rest  really  upon  no  authority  whatever 

To  self-denying  and  kindly  affectioned  Christians  this  revolting 
doctrine  will  not  be  received  with  greater  acceptance  by  the  fact 
that  a  number  of  eminent  and  orthodox  lay  churchmen  have 
recently  signed  a  declaration  to  the  effect  that  they  receive  a 
more  comfortable  assurance  of  the  eternity  of  their  own  salvation 
from  their  conviction  that  the  misery  of  the  damned  is  everlast¬ 
ing.  This  idea,  however,  is  not  confined  to  the  laitv. 

“  Whatever,”  observes  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Dr 
Longley),  “  be  the  meaning  of  the  word  eternal  in  the  case  of  the 
lost,  the  same  must  be  its  meaning  in  the  case  of  the  saved  ;  and 
our  certainty  of  never-ending  bliss  for  penitent  believers  is  gone 
if  the  word  bears  not  the  same  signification  in  the  case  of  the 
impenitent  and  unbelieving.” 

This  difficulty  is  met  and  answered  in  the  following  forcible 
and  beautiful  words  of  another  clergyman  of  the  Church.  “  Is 
it  necessary,”  observes  the  Reverend  Archer  Gurney,  “  to  teach 
learned  men  like  you,  that  whatever  begins  in  time  may  also 
have  an  end  in  time  ? — that  there  is  this  essential  and  infinite 
difference  between  the  eternity  of  good  and  evil,  that  the  one 
has  never  begun,  but  was  from  all  eternity ;  that  the  other  has 
begun,  and  may  therefore  end  ;  that  it  is  nothing  less  than  blas¬ 
phemous  to  draw  comparisons  between  the  eternity  of  the  ever¬ 
lasting  Son  of  God  and  the  relative  eternity  of  his  sinful 
creatures  ;  that  evil  having  nothing  divine  in  it,  is  essentially 
finite,  not  infinite ;  that  it  consists  in  rebellion  to  the  will  of 
God,  and  has  no  inherent  endless  vitality  ;  that  the  happiness 
of  the  blessed  rests,  not  on  a  word  or  a  syllable,  but  on  their 
perfect  union  with  God  ;  that  we  have  no  data  whatever  on 
which  to  ground  the  assertion  that  the  eternity  of  sin,  of  pain, 
and  of  evil,  is  equally  unlimited,  absolute,  and  infinite  ?  ” 

THE  END. 


JOHN  CHILDS  AND  SON,  PRINTERS. 


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**  BOUND  3Y 

#  LONDON  % 


